Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities TV Review

Last Updated on November 1, 2022

Plot: Acclaimed Academy Award-winning filmmaker and creator, executive producer and co-showrunner Guillermo del Toro has curated a collection of unprecedented and genre-defining stories meant to challenge our traditional notions of horror. From macabre to magical, gothic to grotesque or classically creepy, these eight equally sophisticated and sinister tales (including two original stories by del Toro) are brought to life by a team of writers and directors personally chosen by del Toro. Enter his Cabinet of Curiosities!

Review: Guillermo Del Toro is as well known for making brilliant forays into genre as he is for the numerous projects he has never been able to see through to completion. For every The Shape of Water or Crimson Peak, there are dozens of other ideas that Del Toro has come up with but has been unable to finish or even reach production. As capable a producer as he is a director, Del Toro has found an outlet for his creative visions by enlisting a team of filmmakers to adapt the stories that have long intrigued him. Cabinet of Curiosities is deeply ingrained in the tone, style, and vision of Guillermo Del Toro’s own works but expands to the talents of other writers and directors for what may be the best horror anthology ever put to screen.

Premiering this week over the course of four days, Cabinet of Curiosities consists of eight short films that vary in their settings as much as they do in their type of scares. With each entry, Guillermo Del Toro himself emulates Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling by introducing the half dozen tales with a cryptic message and the specific object that inspired the tale before providing the episode’s title and the name of the filmmaker responsible. It is a wonderful homage to the anthologies that helped inspire Del Toro and the retinue of directors involved here and also sets up the viewer’s expectation for what the series is all about. Right from the outset, I was hooked by the stories included. The first entry, “Lot 36”, is based on a short story by Del Toro which he adapted along side Regina Corrado. Starring Tim Blake Nelson, the story is a Lovecraftian nightmare that blends the social elements of early 1990s America with an eternal evil that oozes through the series. Thanks to director Guillermo Navarro, this is a creepy and mood-setting opening for the anthology.

Lovecraft is a major thematic influence over the entire series with two episodes, “Dreams in the Witch House” from director Catherine Hardwicke and “Pickman’s Model” from director Keith Thomas, being adaptations of smaller-scale tales than Del Toro’s long-anticipated At the Mountains of Madness. If this series proves anything, it is that there is plenty of room for Lovecraftian horror on the small screen if a proper budget is provided. This series has solid production values and is able to tell stories both in the past and contemporary locations without making anything feel like it was made on a TV budget. Case in point are the episodes “The Graveyard Rats” which takes place in the 19th Century and “The Autopsy” which is in an eerie and timeless 1970s rural locale. Both episodes, directed by VIncenzo Natali and David Prior, are violent, surreal, and really good.

There are also episodes from Ana Lily Amirpour (“The Outside”) and Panos Cosmatos (“The Viewing”) which blow away what I was expecting from this series. The cast is absolutely fantastic with everyone from F. Murray Abraham, Peter Weller, Crispin Glover, Dan Stevens, and Eric Andre delivering stellar performances that set this show apart from pulpier horror anthologies like Tales from the Crypt and even Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story. Some of these stories are elegaic and dark while others have a morbid sense of humor. None of these tales feels like a television series but rather short films that run just about an hour. Some are shorter, some are longer, but all feel like they exist in a sweet spot between big screen and small.

The highlight of this series is the eighth and final episode, “The Murmuring”. Based on another short story by Guillermo Del Toro, it is written and directed by Jennifer Kent. In her first true horror production since The Babadook, Kent and Del Toro combine to create one of the single best horror tales I have seen. There is so much I would love to say about “The Murmuring” but you just have to watch it and preferably before Halloween. Seriously, it is going to freak you out in the best way possible. And from the opening credit sequence to the unique music and titles of each episode, Cabinet of Curiosities feels like an assembly of unique visionaries rather than the work of one director.

Cabinet of Curiosities represents the all-star team of creative talents assembled by Guillermo Del Toro to tell us stories that likely would have never made it to screen if not for streaming services like Netflix. With solid budgets and creative freedom, this is a show that I hope returns for years to come with more scary stories to tell in the dark. Guillermo Del Toro cannot make everything by himself and now this series proves that if he can get the team beneath him to realize his visions, it is just as good as if he directed them himself. Cabinet of Curiosities has a unique roll-out with a pair of episodes premiering each night this week which gives everyone just enough time to get creeped out leading to Halloween weekend. And trust me, you will get creeped out.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities premieres two episodes each day starting on October 25th through October 28th on Netflix.