Eerie from the East
Published Oct 6, 2018 04:05 pm
SINGAPORE – In the Philippines and the rest of Asia, superstitions abound as these supposedly serve to warn of and even prevent danger from happening. The beliefs are so widespread that they’ve become culture-shaping ideologies.
(Clockwise): Folklore directors Lee Sang-Woo of Korea, Joko Anwar of Indonesia, Ho Yuhang of Malaysia, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang of Thailand, Takumi Saitoh of Japan, and Eric Khoo of Singapore (All Photos from HBO Asia)
This is the central theme of HBO Asia’s first horror anthology original series “Folklore” created by award-winning Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo. Consisting of six episodes, the hour-long show takes place across six Asian countries namely Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Each episode is based on the country’s deeply-rooted superstitions and myths, featuring supernatural beings and occult beliefs.
“Most Asians practice these beliefs even though we’re not sure if it’s true or not because for us, it’s everyday life. It’s like magic happening around you, that’s why telling tales like this is natural and is easy,” said HBO Asia’s Senior Vice President Jessica Kam in an exclusive interview with Bulletin Entertainment.
Kam added the series is a very ambitious project.
“Imagine, six countries, six different directors in one series? That needs a big production. But thankfully, all went well. We’re confident with the kind of horror we have here,” she said.
Kam related that when creator Khoo pitched the series, he had one condition: Each episode has to be in the main language of the country. No English, please.
They agreed.
“We tried to be authentic, more realistic as much as possible. So if you see, say, a Korean or Thailand horror film, and they’re speaking English, it doesn’t make sense and it’s going to look like a joke. It’s very important the way the characters emote and speak and that is one of the elements that makes a great horror film.”
The directors
Present at the media junket were Thai Director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (“POB”), and Korean Director Lee Sang Woo (“Mongdal”).
Not a fan of horror himself, Ratanaruang said that while he believes in spirits, the humans inspire some of the darkest aspects of his work. And like many Thai films, “POB” has humor in it.
“Me, I don’t really like scary things,” he admitted. “When I see classic Thai ghost stories, it’s not psychological. The story is very simple yet there will always be a take away for the viewers.”
Sang Woo of “Mongdal” has always been intrigued with the horror genre. He pulls of his episode with a mother as inspiration.
“We know how mothers are, they are very protective of their children. The series is about an average teenage boy who is painfully awkward and prone to anger-driven outbursts. His social situation is further exacerbated by the fact that he is also the son of the strict school principal. So from there, we see how their relationship goes.”
The other directors who contributed to series are Joko Anwar (Indonesia), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia), and Takumi Saito (Japan).
The actors
Korean Lee Chae-Yeon plays Ok-Bin in “Mongdal.” Even though she is more known as singer than actress, she was Sang Woo’s “first and last choice” for the role.
Sang Woo said, “When I met her – the way she talked, the way she treated people – she’s genuine and not cocky. She has a certain star quality about her. And when it came down to the actual filming, her acting was so good. I’m very proud of her.”
Chae-Yeon admitted she had some reservations prior to filming.
“I was worried, there was always a question in my head,” she said through a translator, adding she even sprinkled salt after filming unless “something is going to follow me back.”
“I would make a stop at another place before I go back, to drop off spirits at another place,” she confessed.
The most challenging part for her was playing a mother as she is yet to be one.
“I need to show that I have eternal love for my child. In fact, I always tell myself every time I go to set, ‘I am his mother, I am his mother,’” she laughed.
Like Chae-Yeon, Japanese actor and “Tatami” lead star Kazuki Kitamura did the salt thing.
“In the film, you will see some straw dolls that look something like voodoo dolls. In Japan, it is a very scary item, it has connotations with cursing. In Japan, we sprinkle salt around ourselves to purify the air around us, and every day after the shoot, I will sprinkle myself with salt.”
Thankfully, he said, nothing untoward happened while filming.
“The house where the filming took place, it was not dark, it was a pretty bright. When I watched the completed film, I was surprised to see it was pretty dark on screen. If the place was that dark, I wouldn’t have gone in,” he said through a translator.
Kitamura plays a deaf-mute investigative journalist in his episode. When asked about his preparation for the role, he shared that apart from learning sign language for the project, he observed his friend who is hearing-impaired.
“To build my character, I had numerous discussions with my director. He may be deaf and mute, but there is something like a sixth sense to him. When I observed my friend, like, if he was in this room, you can’t tell whether he can hear or not,” he explained. “So I observed the way he acts, adopted his body language. What I focused most on is to play the deaf-mute as naturally as possible. When you watch ‘Tatami’ at the start, you might not be able to tell that Makato is deaf.”
In partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), “Folklore” premieres exclusively on HBO and HBO Go today at 10 p.m. New episodes will debut at the same time every Sunday. The first episode of the series, “A Mother’s Love” will stream for free on HBO Go to non-subscribers also today from 11 p.m.
'Folklore': Clockwise, scenes from 'Pob,' 'Mondal,' 'Toyol,' 'Tatami,' 'A Mother's Love' and 'Nobody'
The episodes
All of the six episodes had its global debut at major international film festivals including Toronto International Festival, SITGES Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, and Fantastic Fest.
* “Mongdal” (Korea) – 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.
* “A Mother’s Love (Indonesia) – 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.
* “Tatami” (Japan) – 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.
* “POB” (Thailand) – 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.
* “Nobody” (Singapore) – A Pontianak, the vengeful spirit of a woman who died during childbirth, is awakened 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.
* “Toyol” (Malaysia) – 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.
(Clockwise): Folklore directors Lee Sang-Woo of Korea, Joko Anwar of Indonesia, Ho Yuhang of Malaysia, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang of Thailand, Takumi Saitoh of Japan, and Eric Khoo of Singapore (All Photos from HBO Asia)
This is the central theme of HBO Asia’s first horror anthology original series “Folklore” created by award-winning Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo. Consisting of six episodes, the hour-long show takes place across six Asian countries namely Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Each episode is based on the country’s deeply-rooted superstitions and myths, featuring supernatural beings and occult beliefs.
“Most Asians practice these beliefs even though we’re not sure if it’s true or not because for us, it’s everyday life. It’s like magic happening around you, that’s why telling tales like this is natural and is easy,” said HBO Asia’s Senior Vice President Jessica Kam in an exclusive interview with Bulletin Entertainment.
Kam added the series is a very ambitious project.
“Imagine, six countries, six different directors in one series? That needs a big production. But thankfully, all went well. We’re confident with the kind of horror we have here,” she said.
Kam related that when creator Khoo pitched the series, he had one condition: Each episode has to be in the main language of the country. No English, please.
They agreed.
“We tried to be authentic, more realistic as much as possible. So if you see, say, a Korean or Thailand horror film, and they’re speaking English, it doesn’t make sense and it’s going to look like a joke. It’s very important the way the characters emote and speak and that is one of the elements that makes a great horror film.”
The directors
Present at the media junket were Thai Director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (“POB”), and Korean Director Lee Sang Woo (“Mongdal”).
Not a fan of horror himself, Ratanaruang said that while he believes in spirits, the humans inspire some of the darkest aspects of his work. And like many Thai films, “POB” has humor in it.
“Me, I don’t really like scary things,” he admitted. “When I see classic Thai ghost stories, it’s not psychological. The story is very simple yet there will always be a take away for the viewers.”
Sang Woo of “Mongdal” has always been intrigued with the horror genre. He pulls of his episode with a mother as inspiration.
“We know how mothers are, they are very protective of their children. The series is about an average teenage boy who is painfully awkward and prone to anger-driven outbursts. His social situation is further exacerbated by the fact that he is also the son of the strict school principal. So from there, we see how their relationship goes.”
The other directors who contributed to series are Joko Anwar (Indonesia), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia), and Takumi Saito (Japan).
The actors
Korean Lee Chae-Yeon plays Ok-Bin in “Mongdal.” Even though she is more known as singer than actress, she was Sang Woo’s “first and last choice” for the role.
Sang Woo said, “When I met her – the way she talked, the way she treated people – she’s genuine and not cocky. She has a certain star quality about her. And when it came down to the actual filming, her acting was so good. I’m very proud of her.”
Chae-Yeon admitted she had some reservations prior to filming.
“I was worried, there was always a question in my head,” she said through a translator, adding she even sprinkled salt after filming unless “something is going to follow me back.”
“I would make a stop at another place before I go back, to drop off spirits at another place,” she confessed.
The most challenging part for her was playing a mother as she is yet to be one.
“I need to show that I have eternal love for my child. In fact, I always tell myself every time I go to set, ‘I am his mother, I am his mother,’” she laughed.
Like Chae-Yeon, Japanese actor and “Tatami” lead star Kazuki Kitamura did the salt thing.
“In the film, you will see some straw dolls that look something like voodoo dolls. In Japan, it is a very scary item, it has connotations with cursing. In Japan, we sprinkle salt around ourselves to purify the air around us, and every day after the shoot, I will sprinkle myself with salt.”
Thankfully, he said, nothing untoward happened while filming.
“The house where the filming took place, it was not dark, it was a pretty bright. When I watched the completed film, I was surprised to see it was pretty dark on screen. If the place was that dark, I wouldn’t have gone in,” he said through a translator.
Kitamura plays a deaf-mute investigative journalist in his episode. When asked about his preparation for the role, he shared that apart from learning sign language for the project, he observed his friend who is hearing-impaired.
“To build my character, I had numerous discussions with my director. He may be deaf and mute, but there is something like a sixth sense to him. When I observed my friend, like, if he was in this room, you can’t tell whether he can hear or not,” he explained. “So I observed the way he acts, adopted his body language. What I focused most on is to play the deaf-mute as naturally as possible. When you watch ‘Tatami’ at the start, you might not be able to tell that Makato is deaf.”
In partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), “Folklore” premieres exclusively on HBO and HBO Go today at 10 p.m. New episodes will debut at the same time every Sunday. The first episode of the series, “A Mother’s Love” will stream for free on HBO Go to non-subscribers also today from 11 p.m.
'Folklore': Clockwise, scenes from 'Pob,' 'Mondal,' 'Toyol,' 'Tatami,' 'A Mother's Love' and 'Nobody'
The episodes
All of the six episodes had its global debut at major international film festivals including Toronto International Festival, SITGES Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, and Fantastic Fest.
* “Mongdal” (Korea) – 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.
* “A Mother’s Love (Indonesia) – 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.
* “Tatami” (Japan) – 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.
* “POB” (Thailand) – 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.
* “Nobody” (Singapore) – A Pontianak, the vengeful spirit of a woman who died during childbirth, is awakened 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.
* “Toyol” (Malaysia) – 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.