Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities review: eclectic horror on Netflix

When you put Guillermo del Toro’s name on something, it invites certain expectations. Whether he’s making superhero movies or gothic romance stories, the director’s works all share certain sensibilities: a love of outcasts, incredible attention to detail, a seamless marriage of high and pop culture, and lots of really cool monsters. That all remains true in Cabinet of Curiosities, a horror anthology on Netflix. But it’s also much more than that: while del Toro’s name is in the title, he’s enlisted a carefully curated group of directors, writers, and actors to bring each story to life. The result is a collection of spooky stories that span an incredible range of tones and styles.

Each episode starts out the same: del Toro introduces the evening’s story with a brief monologue while pulling strange objects out of a literal cabinet of curiosities. It’s sort of like a less embarrassing version of the opening from HBO’s Spawn series. The series itself is a collection of eight standalone episodes, each around an hour long, which all poke around the edges of horror. Some are straight-up ghost stories; others veer into sci-fi. But they’re all spooky in their own way. There’s also an interesting release cadence — two episodes will release daily for the rest of the week — that gives the whole thing a Halloween event feel.

What’s most impressive about the anthology is the sheer variety on display. Even when episodes are about seemingly similar topics, they’re nothing alike. For instance, there are two Lovecraft adaptations: “Dreams in the Witch House” from Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke and “Pickman’s Model” from Firestarter director Keith Thomas. The tones are completely different. The former is closer to a traditional ghost story, as a man (Rupert Grint) goes to extreme lengths to reach his sister, who died at a young age. It also has a monster that wouldn’t look out of place in Pan’s Labyrinth (and an appropriately dark twist). On the other side, “Pickman’s Model” really mirrors the descent into madness so common in Lovecraft’s work, with a painter (Crispin Glover) who creates works so terrifying that seeing them drives people into perilous darkness.

Likewise, there are two shorts that both mix sci-fi and horror but take that combination in strange, disparate directions. “The Viewing” stars Peter Weller as a mysterious billionaire who invites a handful of experts from diverse backgrounds to his compound in order to get their opinions on… something. For much of the story, helmed by Mandy director Panos Cosmatos, you’re simply basking in the opulence as the anticipation builds towards the big reveal. It’s all the best of ’80s style: a synth-heavy soundtrack, a plush conversation pit, and copious lens flare along with mountains of cocaine. More importantly, the build-up is worth it, with a truly bizarre reveal that fits the vibe perfectly. In contrast, “The Autopsy” is more of a murder mystery with possible extraterrestrial elements reminiscent of Stephen King.

The range of creative voices del Toro has collected is truly impressive, and it results in some unique shorts. In “The Outside” — which is the only horror story I can think of that’s about skin lotion — the director of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour) teams up with one of the writers behind Brand New Cherry Flavor (Haley Z. Boston) to adapt an Emily Carroll story. It’s disturbing body horror at its finest.

There are some great performances here that elevate the episodes, too: David Hewlett as a man frantically trying to keep his head above water in “Graveyard Rats,” Kate Micucci as a heartbreakingly lonely social outcast in “The Outside,” and Crispin Glover’s extremely creepy take on a haunted painter in “Pickman’s Model.”

Since each episode is essentially a short story, almost all of them leave you wanting more — which, in some cases, can be frustrating. I definitely need to see what happens after the credits roll in “The Viewing.” Other episodes end abruptly. But for the most part, that added mystery benefits the anthology, creating gaps for you to fill in yourself. In an age packed with over-explained cinematic universes, it’s refreshing to have a show that trusts its viewers so much.

So yes, Cabinet of Curiosities is definitely something that will appeal to del Toro’s work. But it also expands beyond those horizons with a collection of very different takes on horror. It’s what I imagine wandering around Bleak House would be like: a glimpse into del Toro’s mind through the work that inspires him.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities starts streaming on Netflix on October 25th.