Opening Up Guillermo Del Toro's "Cabinet"

Guillermo Del Toro (photo courtesy of Netflix)

Writer-director Guillermo Del Toro has enthralled us throughout his career with beautifully crafted films such as The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labryinth, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water and Nightmare Alley. His movies are deeply infused with his love for cinematic and literary genres like fantasy, horror and noir, and he often pays tribute to the artists who have strongly influenced his work, like directors Mario Bava and Alfred Hitchcock. For his Netflix series, Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, Del Toro takes a step back, acting as producer and host for an anthology of horror tales by eight acclaimed filmmakers including Catherine Hardwicke and Jennifer Kent. Del Toro introduces the episodes, a la Rod Serling, but Cabinet of Curiosities has more in common with Serling's 1970s horror-centric Night Gallery (a Del Toro favorite) than the fantasy-oriented The Twilight Zone.

The series runs the gamut from eccentric outings like director and co-writer Panos (Mandy) Cosmatos' visually striking "The Viewing" featuring Peter Weller, to the more visceral horrors of Keith Thomas' "Pickman's Model" starring Crispin Glover, one of two H.P. Lovecraft adaptations in the series, along with Catherine Hardwicke's version of "Dreams In The Witch House," with Rupert Grint. "Pickman's Model" was adapted for Night Gallery in 1971, directed by Jack Laird, while "Dreams In The Witch House" was previously filmed as a 2005 episode of Showtime's Masters of Horror by Stuart (Re-Animator) Gordon. There's also the satirical "The Outside," directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, who also helmed the offbeat vampire film A Girl Walks Home At Night. "The Outside" stars Kate Micucci as a bright young woman who becomes obsessed with looking more like her attractive but empty-headed co-workers, and uses a new beauty product with unexpected side effects.

The unsettling tales featured in Cabinet of Curiosities are somewhat bloody in nature, and there's quite a bit of dark humor in evidence as well, in the vein of Creepshow and the Tales From The Crypt television show, which is no surprise, since the original horror comics that influenced those projects are among Del Toro's own inspirations for the series. Cabinet of Curiosities also includes adaptations of two short stories by Del Toro; the creepy storage unit centered supernatural thriller "Lot 36" starring Tim Blake Nelson, and the ghost story "The Murmuring" directed by Jennifer Kent, who also made the excellent The Babadook. "The Murmuring" features Essie Davis, one of the stars of that compelling 2014 film, along with Andrew Lincoln of The Walking Dead. Both actors are excellent in this eerie tale of a very personal haunting.

Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities will have major appeal for longtime horror fans. There's much to relish and enjoy in these eight films from a group of wonderful filmmakers, which truly celebrate the many shadings and variations of the horror genre. Each episode is truly centered in the personal style of its director, but these episodes also bear the influence of Del Toro as a guiding force. Cabinet of Curiosities comes across as a truly collaborative project, and a labor of love for everyone involved. Here's hoping the network will green light a second season of the series. Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities is currently streaming on Netflix. Here's a look at the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3E1URhCR60.