Guillermo del Toro joins the ranks of episodic genre anthology curators like Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling with his Cabinet of Curiosities. For his limited anthology series, Del Toro assembles a Murderers’ Row of horror filmmakers; each story contained within his ornate oddities cabinet. That singular, eponymous item doesn’t just anchor the anthology but serves as a visual representation of the type of vintage scary story collection that Cabinet of Curiosities unfurls.

Del Toro introduces each selected tale like a sophisticated carnival announcer. A short monologue ensues as the genre maestro opens his cabinet and plucks out a representative item for each curated story along with a carved figurine of its director. Series creator and executive producer del Toro hand-selected each story and director, uniting their distinct visions through a recurring theme of hidden, shifting realities. The episodes range from the macabre to classic frights to the fantastical, from the distant past to the present, all sending its central characters on unexpected journeys.

 

Despite the varied tales and visionaries behind them, Cabinet of Curiosities retains a homogenous look that makes them feel like one unified collection of horror. That’s largely thanks to the consistent and impressive efforts behind the scenes that include production designer Tamara Deverell (Nightmare Alley, “The Strain”) and costume designer Luís Sequeira (Nightmare Alley, The Shape of Water, Mama). While it gives a luxurious quality to the series, that uniformity makes it harder for the filmmakers to separate themselves from the pack.

Del Toro succeeds in crafting a technically impressive and cohesive anthology. The roster of talent on display is incredible, and that reflects in the series’ quality. While the series visually impresses, its commitment to thematic unity means that Cabinet of Curiosities plays more like a soothing lullaby with some level of predictability.

Overall, these aren’t stories that will keep you up at night but rather quiet introspections that dabble in cosmic or existential horrors.

 

Boluwatife Adesina
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Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.