The Medium (1991 film)

Last updated
The Medium
Directed by Arthur Smith
Written byMargaret Chan
Rani Moorthy
Produced byErrol Pang
Derrol Stepenny Productions
Starring Jamie Marshall
Margaret Chan
Dore Kraus
Zhu Houren
Release date
  • 1991 (1991)
LanguagesEnglish
Chinese
Malay
Budget S$1,840,000
Box office S$130,000 [1]

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, 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.

Contents

Plot

The Medium is loosely based on the Toa Payoh ritual murders of 1981, and its perpetrator, Adrian Lim, 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 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. [2]

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. [3]

The film did not break even and only earned S$130,000 in Singapore during its run. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Singapore</span>

Despite having a flourishing Chinese and Malay film industry in the 1950s and 1960s, Singapore's film industry declined after independence in 1965. Film production increased in the 1990s, which saw the first locally produced feature-length films. There were a few films that featured Singaporean actors and were set in Singapore, including Saint Jack, They Call Her Cleopatra Wong and Crazy Rich Asians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Singaporeans</span> Ethnic group

Chinese Singaporeans are Singaporeans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore.

The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans. It is written chiefly in the country's four official languages: English, Malay, Standard Mandarin and Tamil.

The following lists significant events that happened during 1981 in Singapore.

Adrian Pang Yeow Soon is a Singaporean actor, host, and contracted artiste under FLY Entertainment. A full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1990 to 2010, Pang first came to prominence in the Singapore television scene with his performances in both English-language and Chinese-language television dramas produced by MediaCorp and SPH MediaWorks in the 1990s. Since then, he has taken roles in hosting and theatre production. More recently, he had a small role in the Hollywood cybercrime movie Blackhat (2015), starring Chris Hemsworth and Wang Leehom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Education (Singapore)</span> Singaporean ministry responsible for education

The Ministry of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies related to the education in Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Singapore</span>

Capital punishment in Singapore is a legal penalty. Executions in Singapore are carried out by long drop hanging, and usually take place at dawn. Thirty-three offences—including murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, use of firearms and kidnapping—warrant the death penalty under Singapore law.

<i>I Not Stupid Too</i> 2006 Singaporean film directed by Jack Neo

I Not Stupid Too is a 2006 Singaporean satirical comedy film and the sequel to the 2002 film, I Not Stupid. It portrays the lives, struggles and adventures of three Singaporean youths—8-year-old Jerry, his 15-year-old brother Tom and their 15-year-old friend Chengcai—who have a strained relationship with their parents. The film explores the issue of poor parent-child communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lin (surname)</span> Surname list

Lin is the Mandarin romanization of the Chinese surname written , which has many variations depending on the language and is also used in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia.

<i>Singapore Dreaming</i> 2006 film

Singapore Dreaming is a 2006 Singaporean drama film. It follows the Loh family, a typical Singaporean working-class family, through their aspirations and dreams for a better and affluent life and the reality that would make it difficult for them to fulfill these aspirations.

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 found nearby.

<i>Judgement Day</i> (2013 film) 2013 Singaporean film

Judgement Day is a 2013 Singaporean comedy-drama disaster film written and directed by Ong Kuo Sin and produced by Mark Lee. Starring an ensemble cast, the film follows various characters from different backgrounds confessing to their wrongdoings and revealing their biggest secrets just 72 hours from what is believed to be "Judgement Day". It was released on April 18, 2013. Judgement Day marks John Cheng's final feature film role before his death on January 21, 2013.

See Kee Oon is a Singaporean judge who is currently a Judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloysius Pang</span> Singaporean actor (1990–2019)

Aloysius Pang Wei Chong was a Singaporean actor managed under NoonTalk Media, best known for his involvement in multiple Mediacorp dramas.

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in the Republic of Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland Tan</span> Singaporean-born Denmark-based gangster and businessman (c.1948–2020)

Roland Tan Tong Meng, sometimes known by the nickname Mr. Big, was a Singaporean-born Denmark-based gangster and businessman. Initially attaining notoriety for his alleged involvement in a murder in October 1969, Tan fled to the Netherlands where he began his reign as a drug baron. He died of a heart attack in Copenhagen, after being at large for over 50 years.

Malaysians in Singapore refers to citizens of Malaysia or Singaporean citizens of Malaysian origin residing in Singapore. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the community had a population of 1,132,924 in 2020, making them the world's largest Malaysian diaspora community. The community is also the largest foreign community in Singapore, constituting 44% of the country's foreign-born population and an additional 350,000 Malaysians cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway daily for work and school in the city-state.

<i>The Antique Shop</i> 2022 Thai-Singaporean film

The Antique Shop is a 2022 Thai-Singaporean anthology horror film directed by Suphakorn Riansuwan and starring Rio Dewanto, Bae Jin-young, Aloysius Pang and Phiravich Attachitsataporn in the main roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life imprisonment in Singapore</span> Legal punishment in Singapore

Life imprisonment is a legal penalty in Singapore. This sentence is applicable for more than forty offences under Singapore law, such as culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempted murder, kidnapping by ransom, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, voluntarily causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapons, and trafficking of firearms, in addition to caning or a fine for certain offences that warrant life imprisonment.

References

  1. 1 2 "LIST OF SINGAPORE MOVIES (1991-2014)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. "Reel Life in Singapore" . Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  3. "NOTHING RARE" . Retrieved 29 May 2019.