Warning: SPOILERS Below For Folklore!
HBO’s horror anthology series, Folklore, examines Asian superstitions and national folkloric myths - and the endings for each horror segment are just as confounding as the ones before. Created by HBO Asia, Folklore’s six episodes each feature directors from different countries - Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
While Folklore’s collective cast and crew are perhaps unfamiliar to Western viewers, the anthology is very much worth watching, as it allows the audience to engage with the stories, and to understand the conceptual links, including the superstitions that plague each of the aforementioned countries.
Over the past few months, Folklore’s segments have premiered at various film festivals, and now, HBO subscribers can experience the horror anthology all at once. Whether it’s love, loyalty, or complete lunacy, here are the underlying themes and meanings of Folklore’s six endings.
- This Page: A Mother’s Love & Tatami Page 2: Nobody & Pob Page 3: Toyol & Mongdal
A MOTHER’S LOVE: THE DARK SIDE OF KARMA
Folklore begins with “A Mother’s Love” - an Indonesian tale from director Joko Anwar. A mother named Marni (Marissa Anita) lands a three-day job at an empty mansion, and brings along her young son, Jodi (Muzakki Ramdhan). Marni then discovers a room full of starving children in the attic, and the police return the kids to their families. Later, Marni continues to struggle financially, and also with Jodi’s behavior. Meanwhile, a man on television suggests that the “Attic Children” were taken by “Wewe” - an entity that takes unloved children who are willing to leave their homes. In the ending, Marni realizes that Wewe has manipulated her thoughts, thus making her question her sanity while making Jodi feel unloved. After a brief stay at a psychiatric ward, Marni returns to the mansion’s attic and discovers her missing son. She then stands up to the entity, unafraid and ready to engage. Wewe approaches but doesn’t attack. Instead, the spirit appears to embrace the mother and son.
Folklore’s “A Mother’s Love” uses psychological horror to make a statement about familial love and the pain of possibly losing a child. For dramatic purposes, the director uses disgusting visuals to set the tone. When Marni discovers the “Attic Children,” human feces are spread across the floor. Later, a victim reveals the human excrement to be their daily meals. The segment’s ending revisits earlier sequences to show alternatives perspectives, thus making it seem like Marni is attempting to recover from a devastating loss. Surprisingly, “A Mother Loves” strays from traditional jump scares for a relatively heartwarming conclusion. Just as Marni loves Jodi, Wewe loves being a motherly figure, even if her techniques are deeply flawed. In this story, the spirit is misunderstood and misguided.
TATAMI: ORIGIN STORIES AND COPING MECHANISMS
Directed by Takumi Saitoh, this Japanese tale is centered on tatami mat traditions, most notably the idea that a tatami mat absorbs the positive and negative feelings of all the people who have used it. To begin with, a journalist named Makoto (Kazuki Kitamura) takes photos at an abandoned house, and it’s later revealed to be a crime scene. He feels obsessed by a case known as the Shinomiya Family Massacre, but he doesn’t know why; Makoto also learns that his father has just passed away.
Upon arriving back home, he reunites with his mother, and it’s revealed that Makoto is deaf. He experiences haunting memories at home, and the discovery of a bloody tatami mat leads him into a secret room, as well as the past. Makoto’s mother, Yoshiko (Misuzu Kanno), explains that her brother-in-law and his assumed uncle (actually his biological father), Koji (Shima Onishi), was killed over an inheritance dispute years before, and that his assumed father (but actual uncle), Tsukasa (Daisuke Kuroda), never fully recovered from the experience. In fact, he never smiled again. Suddenly, the rush of information leads the deaf journalist to remember a repressed memory: he survived the Shinomiya Family Massacre and was then kidnapped, with the psychological trauma being the reason for his hearing loss. In the end, the tatami mat sucks up Makoto’s “mother" and he disposes of his camera film.
Overall, Folklore’s “Tatami” effectively connects the dots with flashback montages and visual clues, but it’s heavy on narrative exposition. Similarly to “A Mother’s Love,” the director revisits sequences to expand on the historical aspects and why the protagonist struggles with his memories. While this segment could’ve improved with more character depth, it stays true to the tatami mat concept, and how the past informs the present. Viewers may wonder why a bloody tatami mat is kept around after so many years, but that plot points is connected to the mother’s pride and motivations. She couldn’t handle the cards that life dealt her, so she manipulated her reality as a coping mechanism. As for Makoto, he accepts the truth and moves on.
Page 2 of 3: Nobody & Pob
NOBODY IS ABOUT POST-MURDER ETIQUETTE
From Singapore, this segment is about a pontianak specter; the spirit of a woman who died while pregnant. Directed by Eric Khoo, “Nobody” begins with a girl humming to herself in a forest area. She’s ultimately sexually assaulted by local men and buried with a nail in the back of her head, in order to keep a vengeful spirit away. However, the victim’s body is discovered during an excavation, and two construction workers are ordered to burn the corpse. One of them, Peng (Li Wen Qiang), decides to secretly bury the body, and he removes the nail. Incidentally, a pontianak specter wreaks havoc on the murderers and conspirators. Meanwhile, the well-meaning Peng remains unharmed. During the conclusion, Peng looks at a picture of his daughter, while the spirit observes him. A tear drops from the specter’s eye, and she appears to find peace.
Folklore’s “Nobody” relies on effective storytelling structure rather than visual style. The narrative features two overtly-antagonistic boss characters, who are contrasted by two morally righteous men. This segment also uses flashback sequences for exposition and to build suspense, complemented by the constant humming of the looming specter, which announces her impending arrival. This foreshadowing motif is effective, but the dialogue painfully and consistently reminds the viewer that the specter is indeed out for revenge. All in all, the characters don’t seem too concerned about the moral implications of the murder, but rather the do’s and don’ts of what to do after the fact. In this tale, everybody protects their meal ticket: the bosses seek more power, and the workers try not to lose their jobs.
POB: A THAI GHOST WANTS FAME AND HUMAN MEAT
In Thailand, a journalist named Manop (Nuttapon Sawasdee) meets a conflicted individual, Pob (Parama Wutthikornditsaku), who just so happens to be a ghost. The spirit casually discusses his past life, most notably that he killed an American business executive (Thomas Burton Van Blarcom as Paul Conrad). Pob doesn’t mean to brag and boast; he just wants his story to be heard. So, Manop listens to the bald, naked, and hungry Pob. Once upon a time, Mr. Mena aka Pob was shot and killed after giving a ride to a woman and her male companions. Later, Pob meets the aforementioned business exec who doesn’t realize that he’s speaking with a Thai ghost. Pob ends up giving Mr. Conrad a ride, but passes out when he remembers his own murder.
Later, Pob returns to the executive’s home with a Thai-English dictionary to explain his ghost existence. Pob then eats Conrad, and smiles. In the present, Pob requests that his story be published, but Manop rejects the unusual pitch. But, when the journalist needs to pay his mother’s medical bills, he decides to compromise. The narrative implies that Manop wins the lottery (thanks to Pob’s knowledge), but that his mother essentially needs a miracle to make it through the month. Manop then makes an intriguing offer: Pob can eat him, but only if his mother pulls through. The segment ends with the mother flatlining and Pob smiling ominously.
Visually, “Pob” is Folklore’s most stylish segment, and its deadpan humor sets it apart from the others even more. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, one of Thailand’s new wave auteurs, the dialogue is full of pop culture references as Pob states that his story could “break the internet." Like a high-profile Instagram influencer, Pob poses for Manop’s camera, and doesn’t seem to take his existence too seriously. This segment’s plot may seem entirely surreal and ludicrous, but the self-aware dialogue reminds viewers that “Pob” is a black comedy about a self-aware ghost; one that uses opportunity as a means to an end. He’s the Fyre Fest of Thai ghosts.
Page 3 of 3: Toyol & Mongdal
TOYOL: GENERATIONAL REVENGE AND WEALTH
In this Folklore segment, directed by Ho Yuhang, a pre-credits sequence shows a mother about to give away her infant. Instead, she decides to keep the child, but they’re both killed during an explosion. Meanwhile, a group of deformed creatures suggest that the deceased child will grow into a “toyol,” a spirit known for making people rich.
Later, a member of Parliament, known only as “Politician” (Bront Palarae), hopes to calm the masses when a community’s economy is disrupted by an unknown force that kills the local fishes. Meanwhile, he meets a mysterious woman (Nabila Huda) - credited as Woman - who seems vaguely familiar. The two begin a romantic relationship, and it’s revealed that Zul previously lost a son, and that the boy died with a toy in his pocket. After a shaman fails to bring peace to the community, Zul feels increased pressure to act quickly. He then becomes distraught after a close friend and advisor, Zul (Redza Minhat), is hit by a car. The audience learns that politician’s new love interest had accused YB of siphoning money. The Woman then becomes pregnant, and Zul’s literal dreams make him think about the past, prompting Woman to finally reveal the truth: she was impregnated by her own father at age 16, which made her mother go insane. When her father passed away, she was unable to get proper revenge. So, Woman made a spiritual deal to gain control of a toyol. Woman is Zul’s sister. Traumatized by the reveal, Zul ends up at a psychiatric ward. His nephew/son appears and holds up the toy that his deceased son once owned.
Compared to the rest of Folklore’s segments, “Toyol” has one of the most twisted narratives. Even though the final reveal is reminiscent of a film like Oldboy, the primary storyline is steeped in Malaysian culture and the inherent power dynamics. Essentially, it’s a rags to riches story, with the toyol functioning as the MacGuffin. This segment’s true value perhaps lies in the two lead performances, as Minhat poignantly conveys his character’s inner turmoil and Huda delivers a dangerously delicious performance as a femme fatale with something to prove about the past and the present.
MONGDAL IS ABOUT GRIEF AND BAD LIFE ADVICE
In Korea, a troubled teenager, Dong-Joo (Jeong Yun Seok), struggles to find friends and romance at school. His mother is the principal, and his estranged father is a famous author. Dong-Joo aggressively scribbles when he’s upset at school, and he aggressively cuts meat when he feels the same way at home. The mother loves her son, but recognizes his troubling behavior, much like the friends of his secret crush, Seo-Woo (Choi Jeong-Eun). After Dong-Joo essentially stalks Seo-Woo and gets shamed for his behavior, he decides to kill himself.
Distraught, Dong-Joo’s mother - Principal Ok-Bin (Lee Chae-Yeon) - looks to a spiritual medium for help. The man trembles and suggests the deceased boy has become a “mongdal” - a male virgin ghost. The medium urges Principal Ok-Bin to conduct a post-mortem wedding ceremony, in which Dong-Joo would ritually marry a local female virgin who killed herself two days prior. Principal Ok-Bin acts quickly (she digs up a corpse) but learns that Dong-Joo’s spirit doesn’t approve of his new “wife.” Principal Ok-Bin then lures and murders Seo-Woo, only to be chastised by the medium. Principal Ok-Bin then bludgeons her eyes, seemingly in a desperate attempt to eliminate visions of her son. She winds up in a psych ward and speaks to Dong-Joo. The segment ends with someone (Dong-Joo, it seems) aggressively cutting meat, and feeding it to Principal Ok-Bin.
Arguably Folklore’s most disturbing segment, “Mongdal” brings together the anthology’s primary themes: love, loss, and lunacy. Once again, familial dynamics are crucial, along with the concept of memory. “Mongdal” is a story about survivor’s guilt, and how people will do anything to maintain a connection with the dearly departed. In this case, the narrative implies that the deceased boy might’ve grown up to become a serial killer, which makes the Principal Choi character so intriguing. She’s a sympathetic figure because of her grief, yet she ultimately becomes a villain by choosing murder over alternative means of coping with her pain. “Mongdal” is a fitting end to a series that emphasizes how the past looms over the present.
