Folklore: The 6 Best Episodes Of The HBO Max Series

The HBO Max series Folklore boasts six scary tales from India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. But which story is the scariest?

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Following critical acclaim, the 2018 HBO Max horror anthology series Folklore was renewed for a second season, with the premiere episode set to debut on the streaming platform on November 4, 2021. Created by Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo, the show specifically explores horror stories based on long-held Asian traditions, superstitions, folkloric tales, and mythological mysteries.

With Halloween looming large, what better way to anticipate the newest season of Folklore than by reflecting on the chapters that worked best so far in terms of scaring viewers out of their wits. Beware, grisly ghosts, gouging ghouls, and ghastly gore lies ahead.

6 Tatami (Japan)

Despite a preponderance of gore that is sure to sate most grizzled bloodhounds, “Tatami” is the second chapter in Folklore that marks a severe sophomore slump. Directed by Takumi Saitoh, the story concerns a crime reporter who specializes in grisly murder scenes who uncovers a bizarre portal in his childhood dreams that taps directly into his darkest repressed memories.

While the violent gore is shockingly visceral, the story suffers from too many predictable Grudge-like plot points that Asian horror movie fans have seen far too often. Rote, trampled, and far too conventional, many feel that the story lacks originality. However, the rich Japanese traditions and fascinating lore are strong enough to keep viewers engaged until the end.

5 Mongdal (Korea)

South Korea has been at the forefront of the most exciting horror movies to be released in the past decade or so. And while Lee-Sang Woo’s Folklore entry, “Mongdal,” is terrifying in spurts, the overall story is absurd and the acting too silly to frighten viewers to the core. The story concerns a doting mother overstepping her boundaries to ensure her psychotic young son’s happiness.

Based on the Korean “Mondal Wishin” or “Chonggak Wishin” mythos, the story entails a virgin bachelorette ghost with designs on becoming the troubled boy’s wife. Alas, his mother isn’t having any of it and goes to harrowing lengths to keep him alive and well. While the folklore is compelling on its own, the histrionic acting and anticlimactic ending leave a lot wanting in the season 1 finale.

4 Nobody (Singapore)

Directed by Eric Khoo, “Nobody” is a spookily crafted and underrated horror creature feature that gets scarier as it progresses, thanks to its expertly mounting tension and suspense. Based on the Singaporean mythological creature known as the Pontianak (aka Kuntilinak), the murderous monster uses its razor-sharp fingernails to eviscerate human victims and feast on their innards.

Khoo uses the terrifying monster to taunt and torment a construction site after a young girl’s corpse was improperly buried instead of burned to cinders. The way Khoo lulls viewers into a false sense of security early on and then slowly escalates the terror and violent carnage makes it one of the more memorable and well-executed Folklore episodes so far.

3 POB (Thailand)

Thai culture has a long and complicated history with spirits from the afterlife, be they benevolent or malevolent. In “POB,” director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang subverts the rich mythology with a comedic bent that induces genuine thrills and authentic laughs in equal measure.

The gorgeous black-and-white visuals reinforce the ageless quality of a story that finds a journalist who encounters a murderous ghost named POB that is quick to recount his crime in great detail in order to become famous. The more gruesome the details of his play-by-play become, the more terrified and averse the journalist is the publish the story as fact. With a satirical slant on American tourism to go with a terrific performance by Parama Wutthikornditsakul as the titular ghost, “POB” is among the top three Folklore episodes to date.

2 A Mother’s Love (India)

Folklore kicks off with a bone-chilling Indian horror vignette entitled “A Mother’s Love” about a baleful boogywoman known as Wewe Gombel, an ancient supernatural spirit that kidnaps children. Directed with great style and verve by Joko Anwar, the 51-minute horror story concerns a single mother and her son who happen upon the lost malnourished children supposedly taken by Wewe Gombel in the past.

Aside from the enthralling backstory and revolting visage of the mythical monster, Anwar leads viewers down a path of pure pain that seems easy to predict once a very obvious story twist takes place, only to double down and shock the audience to their core with a second, wildly unforeseen final act twist that makes one instantly reassess what came before it and want to restart the chapter immediately.

1 Toyol (Malaysia)

Yuhang Ho’s penultimate chapter, “Toyol” is so spine-tinglingly scary it should have been the last episode of the horror anthology. If anyone has seen the Korean masterpiece, The Wailing, a movie full of jarring twists and turns, they know what “Toyol” has in store. The plot picks up when a Parliamentary member asks a mysterious female shaman for help in rebounding his fishing village’s failing economy, leading to a shocking “be careful of what you wish for” scenario that will leave fans’ mouths agape.

Once the shamanic woman grants the man his wishes, a series of increasingly disturbing events take place that reveals her true nature. Without spoiling too much, the word “Toyol” refers to an undead infant, who plays a key role in terrifying viewers as the story unfolds.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-episodes-hbo-max-series-folklore/