Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities

Guillermo del Toro has come out with a very solid horror anthology on Netflix, where he gives space to filmmakers who have only been around for a short time, and although the quality of the individual parts traditionally fluctuates, as a whole it is still a highly above-average spectacle that I would have liked to see another season of. Lot 36 (Guillermo Navarro): A great idea and a compelling draw to the whole series, but it gets more and more predictable as the minutes go by and it kind of fizzles out into nothing in the rushed finale – 60%. Graveyard Rats (Vincenzo Natali): An unsurprising but entertaining horror tale of a classic cut, though I can imagine a chase with a reanimated corpse in narrow underground passages in a different, separate and far more horror-effective version – 65%. The Autopsy (David Prior): The first story driven by a likeable character (played by the charismatic F. Murray Abraham), and the first downright satisfying episode that beautifully manages to capture the atmosphere of 1950s literary sci-fi/horror stories. Also, after The Autopsy of Jane Doe, another excellent procedural horror film from the autopsy room, and that doesn't happen until the second half. I must follow David Prior in the future – 80%. The Outside (Ana Lily Amirpour): This is one of those rare cases where the predictability of the plot is assumed and it doesn't matter at all, on the contrary it underlines the overall point of the story. The cinematography and the behaviour of the characters are very weird – 70%. Pickman's Model (Keith Thomas): It has a slower pace, which is understandable for a short story set over a span of a few years, but once things get going towards the end, it's a classic Lovecraftian ride. And I loved the casting of both the sinister Glover and Ben Barnes, whose mustache and grey streak in his hair work perfectly as an age-makeup – 75%. Dreams in the Witch House (Catherine Hardwicke): Another H.P. Lovecraft adaptation in quick succession, but this time it is unfortunately the weakest and also the most "horror-ish" episode of the whole anthology. Bland, outdated, unimaginative – 40%. The Viewing (Panos Cosmatos): An audiovisual genre feast. If you know what to expect from the director of Mandy and Beyond the Black Rainbow, that's exactly what you'll get! Panos is simply awesome and I can't wait to see what he does next. A superbly cast, cinematographed, musically performed and overall hypnotically led episode, in short, the essence of what I would imagine to be the highlight of the entire anthology – 85%. The Murmuring (Jennifer Kent): I can see why this particular story was intended to be the conclusion of the entire miniseries. Although the horror element is very stale and wouldn't have been enough on its own, the eighth installment works very well in the portrayal of normal, one-dimensional characters played by well-chosen actors. It's more of a dark relationship drama than a horror movie (and some of the users here can't stomach that – a couple of the reviews on this episode made me downright nauseous), but as an ending to an entire anthology, it's very thought-provoking, functional and with a very human message – 75%. (26/11/2022) (less) (more)