The Medium Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Medium Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 14, 2025

Silvio Amadio's "The Medium" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by critics Adrian Smith and Rod Barnett. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

So many spooky noises

Peter Strickland is probably a big fan of Silvio Amadio’s film The Medium. Or he is not, but only because he is not aware of its existence. If so, someone should urge Strickland to pick up Raro Video’s release of The Medium as soon as possible and spend a night with it. Even though it comes from the early 1980s, The Medium has a lot in common with Berberian Sound Studio, Strickland’s best film.

In The Medium, the main protagonist, Paul Robbins (Guido Mannari), is also a very talented sound engineer who utilizes advanced electronic equipment to create deeply atmospheric music. However, instead of being a freelancer doing odd jobs to make ends meet, like its counterpart from Berberian Sound Studio, Robbins is a wealthy American widower who has built a small studio inside his lavish mansion, located in a beautiful and quiet area on the outskirts of Rome. He works whenever he feels inspired, not every day and quickly to meet recurring deadlines.

Despite maintaining a very flexible schedule, Robbins hires a beautiful maid, Laura (Sherry Buchanan), to look after his teenage son, Alan, and the mansion. Immediately after Laura is welcomed and explained what is expected of her, Robbins then begins exploring different work opportunities and preparing a permanent move to Southern California. Relocating from Italy to America is his attempt to start a new chapter in his life without his wife, who has died in an awful car accident.

As Laura settles down, Robbins begins hearing strange noises and having odd hallucinatory experiences. During the most intense of these experiences, he is attacked by a vicious dog that tears a large chunk of his skin, and a ghost, whose presence is also confirmed by Laura, emerges from the shadows. Then his son falls seriously ill, but a local doctor examines him and declares that there are no legitimate causes for his suffering. After Rome’s most famous medium is hired to uncover why Robbins and his son appear to have become targets of an invisible force, and the séance nearly destroys her, a decision is made to seek help from Europe’s top paranormal expert, Professor Power (Philippe Leroy).

Predicting correctly what Professor Power’s rationalization of the drama would be is very easy because The Medium is not a whodunit. It is an old-fashioned psychological thriller, carrying the genes of a classic Italian Gothic horror film, which has been modified to appeal to a contemporary Italian audience. It is for this reason that The Medium does some very interesting things with sound, which is what makes it easy to compare to Berberian Sound Studio.

But The Medium comes from the early 1980s, and it was a modest production, so its creativity is of a different nature. For example, while effective, the seances are not show-off pieces. They are short and look quite realistic, so all of the sound effects used in them are very pragmatic. While distinctly Italian, the ambience that emerges also has a pseudo-organic quality, very similar to that which gives The Entity its identity. As a result, The Medium is much easier to place next to a genre film like The Entity rather than Berberian Sound Studio.

Raro Video’s release presents The Medium only with an Italian audio track, which is fine. However, several actors utter their lines in English, and during the 1970s and 1980s, virtually all Italian genre films were finalized with two tracks. The second track was an English track, usually considered the original track, which was used to present and sell these films in foreign territories.

The Medium Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Medium arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video.

I would describe the technical presentation as almost good. It is because the master used to produce this release exhibits some of the shortcomings present on older masters that are covered with scanner noise -- suboptimal grain exposure, less than ideal delineation, limited dynamic range, etc. The good news is that even in the areas where the quality drops a bit, all visuals manage to retain a decent appearance, so the most distracting anomalies that older masters covered with scanner noise are famous for are barely avoided. Coior reproduction and balance are fine. However, both can be improved, and if they are, the dynamic range of the visuals will benefit, especially in darker footage. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks clean. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Medium Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The Italian track has a limited dynamic range, which is not surprising considering that The Medium was produced in 1980. However, virtually all serious thrills are initiated by interesting sound effects, so its native limitations are somewhat unfortunate. Also, it would have been great to have an English audio track and compare its strengths and weaknesses. The English translation is good.

The Medium Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Adrian Smith and Rod Barnett. The commentators share their thoughts on the style and identity of The Medium, the interesting cast that was gathered for it, and some specific trends in genre cinema that may have inspired its production.

The Medium Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Philippe Leroy is part of many special memories I have, created while viewing the theatrical versions of the iconic Italian TV series Sandokan many moons ago. Leroy plays a very interesting character in The Medium, which is a small Italian genre film from the 1980s that attempts to impress a bit like Berberian Sound Studio. If you choose to give The Medium a chance, you are not going to discover a forgotten gem, but I am quite certain you will enjoy it. Raro Video's Blu-ray release offers a decent technical presentation of it and is Region-Free. RECOMMENDED.