Guillermo del Toro’s new Netflix horror anthology Cabinet of Curiosities, which hit the streamer on Tuesday, is in many respects a throwbackTo fantasy anthology series both past present — from Outer Limits to Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone.
“Hundreds of years ago,” del Toro explained in an interview included with Netflix’s press material about His new series, “when traveling was a commodity that few could afford safely and people wanted to still get a sense of the wonders of the world, curiosities were collected by seafarers, adventurers, charlatans, you know, and they were exhibited in a room that was called a Cabinet of Curiosities.
“Oftentimes you had the skull of a large mammal, or the narwhal horn — you called it a unicorn horn — and you had Fiji mermaids, which were taxidermy pieces … The person showing the curiosities opened a new world to the spectators.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
That’s more or less the same concept behind del Toro’s new Netflix release, for which eight directors were chosen to present different stories that explore what the idea of “horror” means — stories that encompass everything from internal demons to otherworldly creatures.
Stephen King is the master of horror, author Tweeted ravesThat Cabinet of CuriositiesIt is “scary, sinister, and beautiful to look at.”
The series was created and executive produced by del Toro, who’s also the series host, with Academy Award winner J. Miles Dale (The Shape of water; Sex/LifeAs co-showrunner. And here’s what the show was going for, according to del Toro himself:
“Can we open eight pieces of a collection, curated by me, with eight directors I like or I want to bring attention to, and give them complete freedom and let them do a 40- to 60-minute piece to their liking, supporting them? That emulates that idea of a Cabinet of Curiosities being opened for spectators to see the world through somebody else’s eyes.”
READ MORE: Netflix now has 145 brand-new titles that you can stream this month (October 2022).
‘Ghosts, gore, and giggles’
This debut is timely, since the horror genre has performed particularly well lately on Netflix. Recent hits titles along this line include The Sandman The Midnight Club. To its credit, meanwhile, del Toro’s new series has debuted to strong reviews.
Cabinet of CuriositiesStart streaming has already received a perfect 100 audience score Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a nearly perfect 93% critics’ score.
Guillermo del Toro will be treating Halloween revelers with a 4-day horror series entitled Cabinet of Curiosities, starting October 25. Here’s what to expect: pic.twitter.com/g1b6nqTahA
— Netflix (@netflix) October 24, 2022
“A mostly chilling, thrilling selection of scary tales,”One of the Rotten Tomatoes critics. Empire MagazineThe series is loved by a number of people, including. “Guillermo Del Toro has made a selection pack of horror shorts full of ghosts, gore, and giggles.”
Get more Netflix news: Netflix Top 10: The top 10 most-watched shows around the globe right now