Two found-footage masterpieces from Asia that weaponise ancient curses against modern audiences. One delivers unrelenting dread; the other innovative terror. Which prevails?

Asian horror has long mastered the art of blending folklore with visceral frights, and few subgenres capture this as potently as found-footage films rooted in shamanic rituals. Incantation (2022) and The Medium (2021) stand as towering achievements in this niche, both unleashing narratives of possession and taboo pacts that linger long after the credits roll. This analysis pits them head-to-head across plot, performance, technique, and cultural resonance to determine which film truly deserves the crown of superior horror.

  • Unpacking the curses at each film’s core reveals The Medium‘s edge in escalating horror through generational trauma, while Incantation innovates with interactive viewer involvement.
  • Technical prowess shines in both, but The Medium‘s mockumentary realism and unflinching long takes outpace Incantation‘s inventive camerawork.
  • Ultimately, The Medium emerges victorious for its raw authenticity and psychological depth, cementing its status as the pinnacle of contemporary Asian found-footage horror.

Cursed Foundations: Plots That Bind

Six years after breaking a forbidden taboo in a remote Taiwanese mountain village, Ronan (Tsai Hsuan-yen) returns to her young daughter Dodo in Incantation, only to find the curse she invoked now manifesting through eerie symbols, contortions, and glimpses of otherworldly entities. Director Kevin Ko structures the film as a desperate vlog chronicling Ronan’s quest to lift the hex, complete with a plea to viewers: recite the incantation on screen to aid her plight. What begins as personal atonement spirals into a meta-horror where the audience becomes complicit, blurring the line between fiction and reality as Dodo’s innocence erodes under demonic influence.

In contrast, The Medium adopts a documentary format, following Vietnamese shaman Minh (Sawanee Utoomma) as she trains her niece Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) to inherit the family calling in rural Isan, Thailand. Filmed by a Korean crew, the narrative exposes cracks in the shamanic facade: Mink’s rituals devolve from ceremonial grace to violent convulsions, revealing a malevolent spirit displacing her soul. Co-directors Banjong Pisanthanakun and Park Chan-wook layer the story with escalating revelations—Mink’s possession stems from generational sins, culminating in a ritualistic confrontation that shatters familial bonds and tests the limits of spiritual intervention.

Both films thrive on the slow-burn escalation typical of shamanic horror, drawing from real-world animist beliefs where spirits demand balance through sacrifice. Incantation personalises the dread through Ronan’s maternal desperation, her handheld camera capturing intimate horrors like Dodo’s backwards crawling or the recurring ‘Mama’ figure—a grotesque matriarch whose design evokes Taiwanese folklore’s vengeful ghosts. Yet The Medium amplifies scope by intertwining personal and communal curses, showing how Minh’s past abortions birthed restless entities that now claim Mink, a plot thread that mirrors Southeast Asian tales of phi tai hong, untimely death spirits.

The finales diverge sharply: Incantation delivers a twist-laden climax where the curse’s origin ties to a cult’s fertility rite, forcing Ronan into a suicide pact that implicates spectators via the recited mantra. This interactivity, inspired by J-horror’s viral curses like Sadako, proves clever but risks gimmickry. The Medium, however, unleashes a protracted exorcism sequence of unfiltered brutality—Mink’s body twists in impossible angles, vomiting blood and viscera—building to a hopeless denouement where salvation demands unthinkable severance. Here, the plot’s inexorability heightens tension, making every frame a descent into irreversible damnation.

Performances Possessed: Souls on the Line

Tsai Hsuan-yen’s portrayal of Ronan anchors Incantation with raw vulnerability, her wide-eyed panic evolving into feral resolve as the curse ravages her sanity. Supporting turns, like the villagers’ cultish fanaticism, add communal menace, but the film’s child actor, Huang Sin-i as Dodo, steals scenes with uncanny poise—her blank stares and ritual chants chillingly evoke innocence corrupted. Ko elicits naturalistic terror through improvisation, evident in Ronan’s tearful confessions to the camera, blending grief with guilt in a performance that feels achingly real.

The Medium boasts a tour de force from Narilya Gulmongkolpech as Mink, whose transformation from demure student to vessel of rage is mesmerising. Physical contortions—back-arching seizures, guttural roars—push practical effects and acting boundaries, drawing comparisons to The Exorcist‘s Linda Blair but infused with Thai shamanic authenticity. Sawanee Utoomma’s Minh conveys weary authority crumbling into horror, her shamanic chants carrying genuine weight from her real-life background. The ensemble, including Minh’s brother and the Korean documentarians, grounds the supernatural in familial discord, their reactions amplifying Mink’s otherworldly outbursts.

Where Incantation‘s actors excel in emotional intimacy, The Medium‘s cast delivers visceral physicality. Gulmongkolpech endured months of training for authentic possession states, consulting Thai shamans, resulting in sequences where her eyes roll back independently—a feat of prosthetics and skill. This commitment elevates performances beyond scream-queens, embedding horror in cultural ritual. Both films avoid camp, but The Medium‘s portrayals resonate deeper, humanising the possessed while rendering exorcisms as desperate, flawed human endeavours.

Camera Curses: Found-Footage Mastery

Incantation wields its vlog aesthetic as a weapon, shaky cams and POV shots immersing viewers in Ronan’s frantic documentation. Innovative angles—like tunnel visions through Dodo’s eyes or distorted wide-shots during rituals—enhance disorientation, while Netflix’s global reach amplifies the curse’s ‘spread’. Ko’s editing mimics social media glitches, intercutting viewer-submitted footage to foster paranoia, a technique that nods to Unfriended but roots in Taiwanese urban legends.

The Medium elevates the mockumentary with multi-camera setups: static tripods capture rituals, handheld follows shamans, drones survey cursed sites. Shot across real Thai villages, including actual shamanic ceremonies, the film blurs documentary and fiction—opening with faux production notes detailing ‘ethical concerns’. Long, unbroken takes during possessions build unbearable tension, allowing horrors to unfold in real time, a stark contrast to quicker cuts elsewhere in the subgenre.

Sound design complements visuals in both. Incantation layers droning hums and distorted chants, peaking in the finale’s cacophony that simulates auditory hallucinations. The Medium employs binaural audio for immersive whispers and thuds, recorded on location to capture ambient jungle menace. Technically, The Medium‘s polish—thanks to Park Chan-wook’s oversight—surpasses Incantation‘s rawer edge, though the latter’s accessibility suits streaming scares.

Cinematography-wise, both shun jump scares for atmospheric dread, but The Medium‘s use of natural light in cavernous rituals casts elongated shadows that symbolise encroaching spirits, while Incantation favours desaturated palettes for psychological unease. The edge goes to The Medium for seamlessness, making viewers question if the footage is truly ‘found’.

Folklore Forged in Fear: Cultural Resonance

Incantation draws from Taiwanese gu curses—poisonous insect amalgamations symbolising betrayal—and Buddhist taboos against harming life. The cult’s mountain temple evokes animist shrines, critiquing blind faith amid modernisation. Ronan’s arc probes motherhood under societal pressure, her curse a metaphor for generational trauma in urban Taiwan.

The Medium immerses in Thai-Isan shamanism, moh phi rituals and phi pob spirit possessions informed by field research. It interrogates inheritance burdens, female agency in patriarchal traditions, and globalisation’s clash with rural spirituality—the Korean crew represents outsider voyeurism. Themes of abortion stigma and familial atonement add social bite, reflecting Thailand’s conservative undercurrents.

Both films authenticate via consultants: Incantation with Taiwanese folk experts, The Medium filming live ceremonies. Yet The Medium‘s verisimilitude shines, sparking real shamanic debates post-release. Incantation entertains universally but sacrifices depth for interactivity; The Medium educates through terror, enriching horror’s global tapestry.

Effects and Exorcisms: Visual and Auditory Onslaughts

Practical effects dominate Incantation: silicone prosthetics for the Mama entity, wire work for levitations, all minimised in post for realism. The centipede motif—crawling from orifices—evokes visceral disgust, while digital glitches enhance meta layers without overreliance.

The Medium pushes boundaries with full-body rigs for Mink’s distortions, practical blood ejections, and puppetry for impossible poses. Sound effects, from bone-crunching snaps to layered spirit voices, create a symphony of suffering. Influences from Ringu and REC abound, but location shooting infuses authenticity unattainable in studios.

Influence lingers: Incantation spawned Netflix viewer challenges (despite warnings), while The Medium inspired discussions on ethical horror. Production tales reveal Incantation‘s tight budget versus The Medium‘s ambitious shoots amid COVID, yet both triumphed over constraints.

The Final Reckoning: Verdict and Legacy

Incantation excels in innovation and accessibility, a streaming gem that democratises dread. Its 4.9 IMDb belies cult appeal, praised for twists and replay value. However, pacing dips mid-film, and the curse gimmick may not haunt repeat viewings.

The Medium, with a 6.5 IMDb and festival acclaim, sustains terror through 130 minutes of escalating peril. Critics laud its restraint-to-chaos arc, earning comparisons to Hereditary. Drawbacks include length for casual viewers, but depth rewards commitment.

The Medium wins: superior realism, performances, and thematic weight make it the benchmark. Both redefine found-footage, proving Asia’s horror vanguard.

Director in the Spotlight

Banjong Pisanthanakun, born in 1976 in Bangkok, Thailand, emerged as a cornerstone of Southeast Asian horror with his debut feature Shutter (2004), a ghost story of vengeful spirits captured in photographs that skyrocketed to international fame and spawned remakes. Trained in film at Chulalongkorn University, Banjong honed his craft in advertising before co-directing with Parkpoom Wongpoom, blending J-horror aesthetics with Thai folklore. His meticulous style emphasises psychological buildup, practical effects, and social commentary, influences drawn from masters like Hitchcock and Nakata Hideo.

Key career highlights include Alone (2007), exploring conjoined twin hauntings; Legion of the Dead (2005), a zombie romp; and The Promise (2017), a genre-bending thriller. Collaborating with Park Chan-wook on The Medium marked a pinnacle, merging Thai shamanism with Korean precision. Banjong’s oeuvre critiques superstition in modern Thailand, evident in Count Makdee (2002, children’s horror) and TV work like Krasue: Inhuman Kiss series. Awards include Thailand’s Suphannahong National Film Awards for Shutter. Recent projects explore streaming, but his legacy endures in elevating Thai cinema globally.

Comprehensive filmography: Shutter (2004, co-dir., ghost photography thriller); Art of the Devil 2 (2005, curse anthology); Coming Soon (2008, cinema haunt); Phobia 2 (2009, omnibus); Detective Mr. Dante (2017, mystery); The Medium (2021, possession mockumentary). Banjong continues influencing via mentorship and production, championing practical horror amid CGI dominance.

Actor in the Spotlight

Narilya Gulmongkolpech, known professionally as Narilya, born in 1994 in Thailand, rose from modelling and beauty pageants to horror stardom with The Medium, where her portrayal of the possessed Mink showcased extraordinary physical and emotional range. Discovered via pageants, she debuted in TV dramas like Thong Pra Kai Saang (2016), transitioning to film with roles emphasising vulnerability. Trained in dance and martial arts, Narilya endured rigorous preparation for possession scenes, including yoga contortions and shaman consultations, earning praise for authenticity.

Notable roles include The Maid (2024 Netflix thriller) and One for the Road (2021 anthology segment). Awards: Nominated for Best Actress at Thailand’s Kom Chad Luek Awards for The Medium. Her career trajectory reflects Thai entertainment’s blend of glamour and grit, with influences from international stars like Anya Taylor-Joy. Narilya advocates for women’s roles in genre films, balancing horror with romantic leads.

Comprehensive filmography: The Gifted (2014, debut short); The Medium (2021, possessed shaman heir); Blood Curse II: Asura (2022, supernatural action); The Maid (2024, revenge mystery); TV: Thong Pra Kai Saang (2016, drama), My Forever Sunshine (2020, romance). At 30, she embodies Thailand’s new horror wave.

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