Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
A curated collection of sophisticated and horrific tales.
Guillermo del Toro oversaw this eight-episode Netflix anthology, which dropped on October 25, 2022. The miniseries presents modern horror tales rooted in Gothic and Grand Guignol traditions. Critics mostly praised the direction, acting, and effects, though some found the pacing and writing uneven.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Horror; Dark fantasy
- Creator
- Guillermo del Toro
- Based on
- Cabinet of Curiosities, Guillermo del Toro
- Theme music
- Holly Amber Church
- Country
- United States; Mexico
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 8
Facts from the source article.
Premise
The series is a collection of the Oscar-winning filmmaker's personally curated stories, described as equally sophisticated and horrific. Del Toro introduces each episode, crediting Rod Serling's Night Gallery as an inspiration, particularly the manner in which Serling opens and closes each episode. The central conceit is the opening of a cabinet of curiosities one section at a time, each episode corresponding to a different curiosity from the cabinet.
Production
On May 14, 2018, Netflix gave the production a series order. Executive producers included Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale, and Gary Ungar. Del Toro handpicked other writers and directors to helm episodes, including Jennifer Kent, Ana Lily Amirpour, Panos Cosmatos, Catherine Hardwicke, Guillermo Navarro, David Prior, Vincenzo Natali, and Keith Thomas. Principal photography began under the working title Guillermo del Toro Presents: After Midnight on June 28, 2021, in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and concluded on February 16, 2022.
Reception
Critics were largely impressed with the series, as 93% of the 56 reviewers surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes gave it a thumbs up, earning an average score of 7.6 out of 10. The site’s summary praises del Toro for attaching his name to a mix of spooky tales from both established and up-and-coming directors, calling the result a gothic storytelling treasure. On Metacritic, which uses a weighted system, the show scored a 72 out of 100 from 21 critics, a rating that falls into the “generally favorable” category.
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