Folklore (seen)
Obviously a lot of things could go under folklore, like all vampire movies and so on, so I am only listing interesting ones that contain actual elements of folklore and not just stuff made up for movies.
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- DirectorAleksander NordaasStarsSilje ReinåmoErlend NervoldJon Sigve SkardEstranged friends Leo (a crime-scene cleaner) and hired-hand Elvis are cleaning up a particularly messy casualty deep in the Norwegian woods. When Elvis accidentally finds a secret passage that leads to a subterranean living space, he also encounters Thale, a beautiful young woman who sings, but does not speak. Though they are intrigued and concerned for her, they are ill-prepared when others, tracking Thale, finally catch up to her.Hulder from Scandinavian folklore
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsJeni CourtneyEileen ColganMick LallyYoung Fiona lives with her grandparents in a small fishing village where she takes an active role to unravel the mysterious secrets.Selkie from Gael and Faroese folklore
- DirectorAlex van WarmerdamStarsJan BijvoetHadewych MinisJeroen PercevalA vagrant enters the lives of an arrogant upper-class family, turning their lives into a psychological nightmare in the process.Alps (most likely) from German folklore
- DirectorJuno MakStarsSiu-Ho ChinKara WaiHee Ching PawA public housing tenement is plunged into a dark storm of supernatural chaos.Various Chinese folklore surrounding death (such as a hopping vampire) - I thought it was quite cool.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.Based on various Japanese folklore
- DirectorKang Je-kyuStarsHan Suk-kyuShim Hye-jinJin Hee-kyungSu-Hyun, a 30-year-old art lecturer and his girlfriend, Sun-Young have lived a peaceful life until he comes across an antique wooden bed made from gingko tree and gets pursued by the ghost of General Hwang. Resurrected General Hwang roves modern Seoul ripping the hearts out of people to maintain human form. Su-Hyun does not know why General Hwang seeks to kill him but soon finds out that in their previous lives they were enemies. More than a thousand years ago, court musician Su-Hyun fell in love with princess Midan, who was General Hwang's fiancé. Princess and the court musician's elopement ends in tragedy when Hwang abducts Midan and kills Su-Hyun. On this mournful scene arise a pair of gingko trees housing the souls of Midan and Su-Hyun. General Hwang destroys one of the trees and the other tree embodying Midan's soul gets crafted into a bed. Confined in the bed for a thousand years, Midan longs to meet her beloved court musician, reincarnated as Su-Hyun. Discovering the heartbreaking love story in his past life leads Su-Hyun to confront with General Hwang, who still desires Midan. Su-Hyun and Midan's short reunion was impeded by General Hwang's bursting on the scene. Now, Midan chooses to be locked up in the bed, to run away from Hwang despite it being in flame. Midan and Su-Hyun may have to wait another thousand years to meet again but they're convinced that their love for each other will never die.I'm not sure how closely any of this follows any Korean folklore, but it is an interesting ghost/reincarnation movie.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTom HanksDaryl HannahEugene LevyA young man is reunited with a mermaid he briefly encountered as a boy and falls in love with her without knowing her secret.Interesting take on mermaids.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBen AffleckMatt DamonLinda FiorentinoAn abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loop-hole and reenter Heaven.Interesting take on Christian mythology.
- DirectorVincent WardStarsRobin WilliamsCuba Gooding Jr.Annabella SciorraChris Nielsen dies in an accident, and enters Heaven. But when he discovers that his beloved wife Annie has killed herself out of grief over the loss, he embarks on an afterlife adventure to reunite with her.Interesting take on the afterlife.
- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsTakao OsawaMasaya KatôKanae UotaniA raging god of battle and a master samurai duke it out in a series of sword fights in a remote temple.Tengu from Japanese folklore
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsDudley MooreJohn LithgowDavid HuddlestonThe legend of Santa Claus is placed into jeopardy when an unscrupulous toy manufacturer attempts to take over Christmas.Interesting take on Santa Claus.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsShinchô KokonteiMakoto NonomuraYuriko IshidaA community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.Tanuki from Japanese folklore
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsRentarô MikuniMichiyo AratamaMisako WatanabeA collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.Ghost stories from Japanese folklore
- DirectorJames AlgarSamuel ArmstrongFord Beebe Jr.StarsLeopold StokowskiDeems TaylorThe Philadelphia OrchestraA series of eight famous pieces of classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and interpreted in animation by Walt Disney's team of artists.Various aspects of Greek/Roman mythology
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsPeter O'TooleDaryl HannahSteve GuttenbergWhen a hotelier attempts to fill the chronic vacancies at his castle by launching an advertising campaign that falsely portrays the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up and end up falling for two guests.Ghosts
- DirectorJohn HendersonStarsTed DansonJoely RichardsonIan HolmA scientist tries to prove the existence of the Loch Ness monster.Loch Ness Monster from Scottish folklore
- CreatorChristian WilliamsStarsKevin SorboMichael HurstKevin SmithHercules is half-man, half-god and a hero of fantastic strength. After his malevolent stepmother, Hera, kills his wife and children, he wanders about Earth with mortal best friend Iolaus, fighting evil and trying to overcome his loss.A bunch of stuff from Greek mythology, however the accuracy of the mythology varies; especially in later seasons.
- DirectorBabak AnvariStarsNarges RashidiAvin ManshadiBobby NaderiAs a mother and daughter struggle to cope with the terrors of the post-revolution, war-torn Tehran of the 1980s, a mysterious evil begins to haunt their home.Djinn from Middle Eastern mythologies
- CreatorMark FrostDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael OntkeanMädchen AmickAn idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.Including Fire Walk With Me and the new third season. Twin Peaks includes so much folklore from all over!
- CreatorMark FrostDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanSheryl LeeMichael HorsePicks up 25 years after the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town are stunned when their homecoming queen is murdered.
- DirectorRein RaamatAn Estonian folk tale about Tõll, the giant hero who lived on the Baltic Sea island of Saaremaa.
- DirectorIsaac EzbanLaurette Flores BornnJorge Michel GrauStarsGuillermo VillegasMarco ZapataAntonio MonroiEight Mexican directors unite to bring tales of the most brutally terrifying Mexican traditions and legends to vividly shocking life.Alux from Mayan cultures, and possibly other things, but I haven't found a decent explaination of most of the shorts yet.
- DirectorAgnieszka SmoczynskaStarsMarta MazurekMichalina OlszanskaKinga PreisIn Warsaw, a pair of mermaid sisters are adopted into a cabaret. While one seeks love with humans the other hungers to dine on the human population of the city.
- DirectorJoe NapolitanoStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonClaire StansfieldMulder and Scully track a legendary creature that has roamed the New Jersey countryside for over 40 years.
- DirectorDavid NutterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonTy MillerA creature, possibly from Native American lore, is suspected of killing a man, bringing Mulder and Scully to the Indian reservation where the attack occurred in order to uncover its identity.
- DirectorMark JonesStarsWarwick DavisJennifer AnistonKen OlandtAn evil, sadistic Leprechaun goes on a killing rampage in search of his beloved pot of gold.
- CreatorBryan FullerMichael GreenStarsRicky WhittleEmily BrowningYetide BadakiA recently released ex-convict named Shadow meets a mysterious man who calls himself "Wednesday" and who knows more than he first seems to about Shadow's life and past.
- DirectorChris KientzStarsMichael DobsonKevin LoringBernard StarlightA collection of Aboriginal creation myths from the creators of the multiple-award-winning Raven Tales television series.
- DirectorDavid BrucknerStarsRafe SpallArsher AliRobert James-CollierA group of old college friends reunite for a trip to a most dangerous country in Europe - Sweden, encountering a menacing presence there stalking them.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsChloë Grace MoretzJames CaanMary SteenburgenKaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.
- DirectorFruit ChanChi-Ngai LeeSimon YamStarsSimon YamTony Ka Fai LeungKelly ChenThis film tells three different horror stories. The first consist of a men who steals urns for money, the second about a fortune teller running from ghosts and the third presents the relationship between two unusual woman.
- DirectorBobcat GoldthwaitStarsAlexie GilmoreBryce JohnsonLaura MontagnaA man and his girlfriend camp in the woods to capture firsthand evidence of Bigfoot.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsForrest TuckerPeter CushingMaureen ConnellA kindly English botanist and a gruff American scientist lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.
- DirectorEd RagozzinoStarsGeorge LaurisSteve BoergadineJim BradfordScientists mount an expedition to find a Bigfoot-type creature.
- DirectorEduardo SánchezStarsSamuel DavisDora MadisonRoger EdwardsA group of friends who venture into the remote Texas woods for a party weekend find themselves stalked by Bigfoot.
- DirectorJeremy WoodingStarsGeorge BlagdenTom CotcherBarrington De La RocheA stagecoach of travelers, a gunslinger and two outlaws arrive in a deserted mining town lit by the glow of a reddish full moon. As their worlds collide, they are hunted by a beast that only appears on the night of a blood moon.
- DirectorJay.kStarsPrithviraj SukumaranPriya AnandTovino ThomasA newly married woman brings an antique Jewish box into her home, unaware that the box contains the ghost of Abraham Ezra.
- DirectorChito S. RoñoStarsKim ChiuMatteo GuidicelliChristian BablesAfter receiving an unusual business proposal, a young woman experiences strange phenomena.
- DirectorRobin HardyStarsEdward WoodwardChristopher LeeDiane CilentoA puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsLesley-Anne DownPierce BrosnanAnna Maria MonticelliA French anthropologist specializing in nomadic groups moves to Los Angeles with his wife, and starts following a group of sinister street punks who seem to live and move around in a black van. But they aren't what they seem.
- DirectorRichard JefferiesStarsJames Earl JonesJosé FerrerLila KedrovaAn adventurer hunting for treasure in Greece accidentally frees a monster that forces local villagers to sacrifice virgins.
- DirectorTomoo HaraguchiStarsDaniel AguilarMatt AltHideaki AnnoScientists create amphibious supersoldiers and detonate a nuclear bomb. In the midst of the fallout, a monster arrives, leaving Japan defenseless. Mankind's only hope is an irradiated water goblin with death on its mind.