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Guillermo del Toro – the Oscar-winning director behind Hellboy, The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth – presents eight horror stories in Cabinet of Curiosities, his first official venture with Netflix. In a way reminiscent of Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone, del Toro emerges from the shadows to introduce each episode and its director, selected to showcase the emerging talent of the horror genre.
Each standalone story, curated by del Toro, explores a fondness for the genre’s old-fashioned tropes. In this series of short stories you will encounter ghosts, ghosts, monsters – undoubtedly all emblems of modern horror cinema – but with a preference for practical effects over CGI and a taste for gothic.
The anthology format allows you to enjoy submissions in any order you want. Still, a big question remains: what’s the best episode of the cabinet of curiosities? While the eye of del Toro means they’re all fun to watch, some are arguably better than others. Here’s our ranking of each episode of the Cabinet of Curiosities, ranked from worst to best.
8. Dreaming in the witch’s house
One of the two HP Lovecraft adaptations, Dreams in the Witch House is the best attempt at covering up a lack of story with glossy production design and extensive world building.
Rupert Grint plays a man who dedicates his life to find his dead sister in the afterlife. By taking up residence in the titular house in hopes of contacting her, we get to see one terrifying sequence, the bare minimum required for any ghost story. While it’s a decent yarn, director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) steers it towards the fairytale side of gothic rather than horror. Come for the downright insane ending, but try not to dwell on its boring middle act.
7. Lot 36
Proof that the worst antagonists can really pull you into a story if they’re well drawn. Tim Blake Nelson plays a xenophobic veteran who buys abandoned storage spaces and resells the contents. That is until he scores Lot 36 and gets more than he bargained for – think Storage Wars and Poe meet, and you’ll immediately get a sense of where this one is headed.
Written by del Toro and directed by frequent collaborator Guillermo Navarro, Lot 36 lays the groundwork for the entire Netflix series, acting as a gentle introduction to otherworldly things that bump into at night. It wraps a little faster than it should – an odd choice given its short run time – but the last two minutes make it work.
6. Pickmans Model
The second Lovecraftian adaptation, Pickman’s Model, strays a little too far from the short story’s origins. Art student Thurber (Ben Barnes) is introduced to the work of classmate Pickman (the prodigiously deranged Crispin Glover) whose paintings of infernal beasts and cannibalistic last suppers drive everyone she sees insane. Soon, the subjects of those artworks begin to creep into the fringes of Thurber’s life.
Keith Thomas, who delivered the phenomenal 2019 Vigil, directs with a strict dedication to Lovecraft’s New England, considered a character himself in the cosmic maestro’s canon. The quiet gothicism doesn’t stop the sting in the tail from providing a huge shock, but there are better entries in this anthology production.
5. Graveyard Rats
Vincenzo Natali (Splice, Cube) brings a grim Henry Kuttner story to life and turns it into a goofy black comedy, the most heartfelt fun entry in the series.
Graveyard Rats is set in Salem at the turn of the century, where Massam (David Hewlett), a cemetery manager, robs side graves to pay off his mafia debts. When he discovers that bodies are missing, he soon faces a more pressing fear than loss of income: rats. This underground adventure hunts multiple phobias all mashed into one, claustrophobia tops that list, and there are a handful of surprises along the way thanks to some truly outstanding creature work. Not one for those who hate rodents, mind you.
4. The outside
Ana Lily Amirpour dissects the beauty industry and its rule over Stacey (Kate Micucci), a meek bank teller desperately trying to fit in with her bland colleagues. This twist on society’s obsession with appearance is intertwined with the camera methods Amirpour uses: faces peering at the strange lenses, while alleged emblems of attraction appearing garish up close. Likewise, mouths of exaggerated lipstick spew mindless gossip, making you question Stacey’s decision to use a mystical cream that promises transformation.
What follows is Cronenbergian body horror twinned with Annihilation-influenced craziness. This pitch-black comedy is riddled with hypnotic moments where it’s hard to tell what’s real or imagined, but you’ll love every wacky second.
3. The murmur
Once again, The Babadook director Jennifer Kent brings a looming sense of dread into a home. This emotionally charged story follows Nance (A sublime Essie Davis) and Edgar (Andrew Lincoln), a couple whose recent loss prompts them to pursue their passions for birdwatching and take up residence in a remote abode to study dunlins.
The Murmuring comes closer to a traditional haunted house story than any other in the cabinet of curiosities. Figures lurk in doorways and inexplicable noises appear on recordings. They’re certainly enough to send chills, but their power lies in the intertwining of Nance’s trauma with the house’s unwavering past. Kent is not one for flashy horror, instead she lets this terror simmer, dealing an emotional blow until the final moments.
2. The autopsy
Last year’s Empty Man was dripping with terror, describing it as a rare studio horror centered on surreal production and an orchestra of mood. Director David Prior brings the same scope to The Autopsy. It begins with a sheriff (Glynn Turman) spoiling his doctor friend (F. Murray Abraham) with the story of a recent disappearance, and ends with ten men killed in a mine. That escalated quickly, didn’t it.
You might think you know where this one is going, but halfway through it wanders into terrifying sci-fi, mottled with body horror dripping and dripping all over the joint. It centers on a horrific moment of psychosis, as Abraham’s doctor comes to a horrific realization about what killed the men, a veritable shiver to the soul.
1. Viewing
The visual flair of Panos Cosmatos comes into its own for this stoner fever dream. The Viewing is a sensory nightmare, with a syncopated synth soundtrack that slowly threads fear into the episode in a way that nestles under your skin.
It’s 1979 and Peter Weller’s wealthy eccentric invites four top artists and scientists to his bunker-like home and promises a tour of, well, something. As they bombard the group with expensive booze and drugs (the mentioned “space cocaine” could also be the title of the episode), they casually joke for most of the running time until the viewing itself.
The final act reveals an alien finale that ebbs and flows with a pulsating ick as the subject is revealed. The set design is breathtaking, the effects are brimming with horror, and the final transformation has a parting shot to die for. A cosmically demented brain melter who is easily the best of the bunch.
For more horror and/or Netflix content, check out our guides to the best horror movies, the best Netflix horror movies, the best Netflix movies, and best Netflix documentaries.