A broken doll and a growing curse haunt ‘Mudborn’

TAIWAN’S No. 1 supernatural horror film “Mudborn” is headed to Philippine cinemas on March 18, bringing an eerie tale built around a broken clay doll, an unsettling nursery rhyme, and a curse that refuses to stay buried.

PHOTOS/Common caption: At the center of horrific events are Muhua (Cecilia Choi) and Hsu-Chuan (Yo Yang). PHOTOS FROM ENCORE FILMS PHILIPPINES 

PHOTOS/Common caption: At the center of horrific events are Muhua (Cecilia Choi) and Hsu-Chuan (Yo Yang). PHOTOS FROM ENCORE FILMS PHILIPPINES

To stir anticipation for the local release, Encore Films Philippines, the movie’s local distributor, sent The Manila Times Entertainment a set of “survival rules” inspired by the film’s central horror — the kind of warnings that sound playful at first, until the story behind them starts to sink in.

The first is simple enough: don’t pick up a random doll.

In “Mudborn,” what appears to be a broken clay baby doll becomes the source of terrifying supernatural events after it is brought into a family home. From there, curiosity gives way to dread, as the object’s presence begins to disturb what was once a peaceful household.

Just as important, the distributor warns: don’t fix it.

The film follows the couple, Muhua (Cecilia Choi) and Hsu-Chuan (Yo Yang), as they welcome the broken doll into their home and attempt to restore it. But in a story where damage may have existed for a reason, every repaired piece only seems to invite greater danger, spreading fear deeper into their lives.

Then comes perhaps the creepiest reminder of all: don’t treat it like a child.

Because in “Mudborn,” what looks fragile and familiar may be something far more sinister. As the supernatural force surrounding the doll grows stronger, the boundary between lifeless object and living presence begins to blur in increasingly disturbing ways.

And finally, don’t ignore the warnings.

According to the production notes, the family in “Mudborn” is eventually forced to seek the help of a psychic exorcist as they try to uncover the truth behind the clay doll, the haunting rhyme and a curse tied to ancient folklore.

Beyond the doll itself, the horror seems to lie in how something small and seemingly harmless can carry a darkness that quietly follows its victims home.

Moviegoers can find out just how far that darkness goes when the blockbuster Taiwanese horror film opens in cinemas on March 18.