Since I currently have an HBO subscription to watch the end of Game of Thrones and the Deadwood movie, I thought I'd poke around their other offerings to get my money's worth. One show that I stumbled upon was Folklore. Folklore is an original miniseries; each episode is a self-contained story taking place in a different Asian country that showcases some facet of that culture's horrific folklore.
Here's the trailer:
The episodes range wildly in terms of tone and aesthetics. I thought they were all roughly "good," but the real interest for me was being introduced to monsters that I might want to research further for my own projects. Here's a breakdown of which folkloric element is featured in each episode, in case you want to delve into the stacks too:
- A Mother's Love (Indonesia): Wewe Gombel, the menacing spirit of a woman who adopts abandoned children.
- Tatami (Japan): A haunting caused by memories and emotions seeping into tatami mats.
- Nobody (Singapore): Pontianak, the specter of a woman who died while pregnant.
- Pob (Thailand): Pob, a murderous spirit that feeds on human flesh.
- Toyal (Malaysia): Toyal, a childlike creature controlled by black magic who is used to bring luck and bestow curses.
- Mongdal (South Korea): Mongdal, a virginal male ghost who desires to marry a woman's ghost to find peace.
