Medium Rare
Encyclopedia
The Medium 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.
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 subjected him to eternal torture. This was said to be added to re-assure audience that crime does not pay.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's first full-length English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Stan Barret, and finally by Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith may refer to:*Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith , American guitar player and composer*Arthur Donaldson Smith, American explorer of Africa*Arthur Henderson Smith , American missionary in China, author of books on Chinese culture...
, who was British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The Medium was initially seen as a revival of the local film industry. Starring Brenda Bakke
Brenda Bakke
Brenda Jean Bakke is an American actress better known for her roles as Lana Turner in L.A. Confidential, Michelle Rodham Huddleston in Hot Shots! Part Deux, where she plays a spoof on Sharon Stone's character from Basic Instinct, Cordelia the prostitute in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and...
, 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 murdersToa Payoh ritual murders
The Toa Payoh ritual murders took place in Singapore in 1981. On 25 January the body of a nine-year-old girl was found dumped next to the lift of a block of flats in the Toa Payoh district and, two weeks later, a ten-year-old boy was found dead nearby. The children had been killed,...
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
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
catches him and subjected him to eternal torture. This was said to be added to re-assure audience that crime does not pay.