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Film description

Strange plague have struck the small fishing town in Malaysia. Wave upon wave of dead fish wash up onto the shores and if the solution is not found quickly the local economy will collapse. Leading politician is trying to cut away from his father's inglorious past and solve the problem as fast as possible. His advisors suggest that the plague was brought through the intervention of black magic, so they convince the politician to hire a shaman in secret. Not only I does not help, but also the truth reaches the news, politician faces the scandal and  parliament disciplinary procedures. One day he runs into a mysterious woman, who seems familiar. She offers to solve all his problems, politician eagerly agrees. However there is always a price to be paid.

In "Folklore: Toyol" Ho Yuhang is not only presenting a story based in old Southeast Asian legends and horror tales, but also comments on contemporary Malaysian society. It also goes into direct dialogue with Dain Said's "Dukun": main theme revolves around the connection between politics and black magic and "Folklore: Toyol" includes cameo appearances from director Dain Said himself and Umie Aida, who played the shaman in "Dukun". Ho Yuhang’s episode in HBO Asia series stands out as very contemporary in relation to recent changes in Malaysian politics but also goes down into the history of the horror genre, visually and narratively referring to such classics as “Tales from the Crypt”.

More about Folklore series

Maja Korbecka