''The Medium'' (also known as ''Medium Rare'') is
Singapore's first full-length
English language film. It was released in local cinemas in late 1991 and produced by Singaporean Errol Pang. It was initially supposed to be directed by a Singaporean, Tony Yeow, then by an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, Stan Barret, and finally by Arthur Smith, who was
British. ''The Medium'' was initially seen as a revival of the local film industry. Starring
Brenda Bakke, Margaret Chan and Dore Kraus.
Zhu Houren also cameos as a coffeeshop owner whose wife ends up getting cheated by the main antagonist.
Plot
''The Medium'' is loosely based on the
Toa Payoh ritual murders of 1981, and its perpetrator,
Adrian Lim
The Toa Payoh ritual murders took place in Singapore in 1981. On 25 January, the body of a nine-year-old girl was found at a block of public housing flats in the town of Toa Payoh, and two weeks later, the body of a ten-year-old boy was fo ...
, with a supernatural twist to the ending. Lim murdered two children and was sentenced to death in 1988. However, in the movie ending, the main character based on Adrian Lim escaped from the prison and ran into an incoming truck where
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
catches him and subjects him to eternal torture. This was said to be added to reassure the audience that crime does not pay.
Production
The film cost S$1.84 million to produce with Pang financing S$1.2 million on his own.
Reception
A ''
Straits Times'' panel liked the storyline, but found the pace was slow, with a weak script with no scare factor. Local newspaper ''
The New Paper'' found the film clichéd and unconvincing.
The film did not break even and only earned S$130,000 in Singapore during its run.
References
External links
*
1991 films
1990s thriller films
Singaporean multilingual films
1990s English-language films
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