Folklore (TV series)

Last updated
Folklore
Genre
Created by Eric Khoo
Country of origin
  • Indonesia
  • Japan
  • Thailand
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
  • South Korea (season 1)
  • Taiwan (season 2)
  • Philippines (season 2)
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companyZhao Wei Films
Original release
Network HBO Asia
ReleaseOctober 7, 2018 (2018-10-07) –
September 16, 2022 (2022-09-16)

Folklore is a television horror anthology series that premiered on HBO Asia on October 7, 2018. [1] On December 1, 2020, it was renewed for a second season. [2]

Contents

Premise

Created by Singaporean director Eric Khoo, the six-episode series features stories based on Asian superstitions and national folkloric myths, with each episode helmed by a director from a different country. [3]

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 6October 7, 2018 (2018-10-07)November 11, 2018 (2018-11-11)
2 7November 14, 2021 (2021-11-14)September 14, 2022 (2022-09-14)

Season 1 (2018)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byCountryLanguageOriginal air date
11"A Mother's Love" Joko Anwar Joko AnwarIndonesiaIndonesianOctober 7, 2018 (2018-10-07)
A single mother and her young son discover a group of dirty and underfed children living in a mansion's attic. Upon saving them and returning them to their families, she has unknowingly snatched these children from their adopted mother - Wewe Gombel - and must now beware her vengeful wrath.
Cast : Marissa Anita, Muzakki Ramdhan
22"Tatami" Takumi Saitoh Tomoki Kanazawa & Masato TannoJapanJapaneseOctober 14, 2018 (2018-10-14)
A murder scene writer returns home to attend his father's funeral and begins to experience constant flashbacks of his childhood. He then discovers a secret door in the house that leads to a room that hides a horrifying secret from his family's past.
Cast : Kazuki Kitamura, Misuzu Kanno, Daisuke Kuroda, Shima Onishi
33"Nobody" Eric Khoo Amanda Lee Koe Singapore Singlish
Malay		October 21, 2018 (2018-10-21)
A Pontianak is awoken when a foreman and a construction worker attempt to bury the body of a dead girl instead of burning her. A series of unfortunate events begin to occur at the construction site.
Cast : Li Wen Qiang, Maguire Jian, Sivakumar Palakrishnan, Aric Hidir, Louis Wu, Dayang Nurbalqis
44"Pob" Pen-Ek Ratanaruang Pen-Ek RatanaruangThailandThaiOctober 28, 2018 (2018-10-28)
A journalist meets with Pob, a Thai ghost, who confesses to a murder. Finally finding an outlet for complaint, Pob explains how the murder happened and requests for his story to be published. However, the journalist declines and the two make a deal of a lifetime.
Cast : Nuttapon Sawasdee, Parama Wutthikornditsakul, Thomas Burton van Blarcom
55"Toyol"Ho YuhangHo YuhangMalaysiaMalayNovember 4, 2018 (2018-11-04)
A Member of Parliament (MP) of a fishing town turns to a mysterious woman who possesses shamanistic powers in order to salvage his town's dire economic situation. She fixes all his problems and the two soon become lovers. However, the woman has a dark secret that threatens to destroy his life.
Cast : Bront Palarae, Nabila Huda, Redza Minhat
66"Mongdal" Lee Sang-woo Lee Sang-wooSouth KoreaKoreanNovember 11, 2018 (2018-11-11)
A mother tries to appease the moods and demands of her borderline psychopathic son. When a new girl comes to town, her son falls quickly and deeply for the new girl and is determined to win her over possibly even against her will. When things take a tragic turn, his mother will stop at nothing to make her son happy even if it means finding a bride to join him in the afterlife.
Cast : Lee Chae-yeon, Jung Yoon-seok

Season 2 (2021–22)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byCountryLanguageOriginal air date
71"The Rope"Liao Shih-hanSimon MaTaiwan Mandarin November 14, 2021 (2021-11-14)
A married couple live happily together. However, their family life soon ran into jeopardy when a dark, terrible secret of the husband came out of light.
Cast : Vivian Sung, Wu Kang-ren
82"The Day the Wind Blew" Seiko Matsuda Seiko Matsuda, Tan Fong-cheng, Tomoki KanazawaJapanJapaneseNovember 21, 2021 (2021-11-21)
A tale of a schoolgirl who meets the man of her dreams ― her idol. But something seems amiss and her fairy tale is destined for a hellish end.
Cast : Win Morisaki, Haori Takahashi, Fuyuki Moto, Tae Kimura
93"Broker of Death"Sittisiri MongkolsiriKongdej JaturaneasmeeThailandThaiNovember 28, 2021 (2021-11-28)
A father owns an amulet shop in order for his daughter to pay his medical bills when she discovers to pick up a dead body. The corpse is to be a part of the ritual so that a wealthy politician can have more power.
Cast : Natee Ngamnaewprom, Sornchai Chatwiritachai, Jennis Oprasert
104"7 Days of Hell" Erik Matti Michiko YamamotoPhilippinesTagalogDecember 5, 2021 (2021-12-05)
A policewoman finds her son suddenly afflicted with a mysterious illness, but things may not be as it seems.
Cast : Dolly de Leon
115"Grandma's Kiss"Billy ChristianBilly Christian, Wihamdy OesmanIndonesiaIndonesianDecember 12, 2021 (2021-12-12)
Being canceled by her daughter, an elderly woman spends her life in a local retirement home with a roommate. Little did the woman know that her roommate has been harboring a warmly yet devious plan, only to see her grandchildren again.
Cast : Lydia Kandou, Ken Zuraida
126"The Excursion" Nicole Midori Woodford Nicole Midori WoodfordSingapore Mandarin
English 		December 19, 2021 (2021-12-19)
A troubled mother brings her son on an excursion to the beach after their family tragically unravels. At the edge of the sea, a horrifying truth awaits.
Cast : Mindee Ong, Darren Lim, Ethan Ng Kai En
137"Ayizah, Ayizah"Bradley LiewBradley Liew & Dodo DayaoMalaysiaMalaySeptember 16, 2022 (2022-09-16)
After discovering her employer consults a supernatural being for success, a young housekeeper finds herself seduced by the creature's promise of power and wealth.
Cast : Sara Ali, Remy Ishak, Sharifah Sakinah

Production

Development

Episodes were directed by Khoo, Joko Anwar, [4] Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Takumi Saitoh, [5] Lee Sang-woo and Ho Yuhang. [6]

Casting

Kim Yoo-jung was offered a role in the South Korean episode. [7]

Release

Season 1

All six episodes of the series have received preview screenings at various film festivals in advance of the television premiere. Anwar's "A Mother's Love" and Ratanaruang's "Pob" received a preview screening at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival as part of its Primetime stream of selected television projects. [6] Another two episodes, Saitoh's "Tatami" and Khoo's "Nobody", received a preview screening at the 2018 Sitges Film Festival as part of Serial Sitges section, [8] [9] while Ho's "Toyol" and Lee's "Mongdal" were screened at the 2018 Fantastic Fest in Austin as part of Folklore program. [10]

The Indonesian episode had its West Coast premiere on November 14, 2018 at 19th annual San Diego Asian Film Festival. [11]

The extended version of the South Korean episode would have its world premiere at the 23rd annual Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival as part of "Korean Fantastic: Crossover" section. [12] [13] However, it was canceled due to circumstances of the production company. [14]

Season 2

The two of six episodes of the season had world premiere at 2021 Tokyo International Film Festival as part of "TIFF Series". Woodford's "The Excursion" and Matsuda's "The Day the Wind Blew" were screened at Humantrust Cinema, Yūrakuchō on November 4, 2021. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ Widianto, Stanley (September 21, 2018). "'Folklore': Finding the origins of fear". The Jakarta Post .
  2. ↑ Frater, Patrick (December 1, 2020). "'Folklore' Horror Series Given Second Season by HBO Asia". Variety.
  3. ↑ Tseng, Douglas (September 6, 2018). "First Look: Eric Khoo And HBO Asia Team Up On Horror Series 'Folklore'". Today .
  4. ↑ Wira, Ni Nyoman (September 22, 2018). "Joko Anwar explores emotional layers of Indonesian ghost in 'Folklore: A Mother's Love'". The Jakarta Post .
  5. ↑ "2018/10/10 [CREATE] HBOアジア ドラマ「Folklore」情報" (in Japanese). Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Frater, Patrick (September 6, 2018). "Toronto: 'Folklore' Gives Primetime Festival Slot to Asian Horror". Variety .
  7. ↑ Son, Bong-suk (December 29, 2017). "배우 김유정, HBO 드라마 출연 제안 받아" [Actress Kim Yoo-jung receives suggestion of HBO drama starring]. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Folklore: Tatami". Sitges Film Festival .
  9. ↑ "Folklore: Nobody". Sitges Film Festival .
  10. ↑ "Folklore at Fantastic Fest". Fantastic Fest .
  11. ↑ "Folklore Episode 1: A Mother's Love". SDAFF. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  12. ↑ Sung, Ha-hoon (May 31, 2019). ""구토용 봉지 준비하세요", 센 영화 원한다면 부천으로". ohmystar (in Korean). Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  13. ↑ Shin, Mi-rae (June 30, 2019). "매체간의 경계를 허물다(ft.행복의 진수) [M+BIFAN 현장③]". MBN (in Korean). Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  14. ↑ "티켓 카탈로그 변경사항 안내 (6/18 ver)". BIFAN (in Korean). June 12, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Folklore 2: The Excursion / The Day the Wind Blew". Tokyo International Film Festival. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
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