The series is curated by Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017), which respectively won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture.
Del Toro is an author, actor and filmmaker of Mexican descent, whose sprawling three-decade career has seen his career evolve from low budget Spanish language films to Academy-Award winning Hollywood blockbusters.
This eight-part series anthology brings the viewer into state-of-the-art worlds, with each episode dedicated to a chilling narrative that rattles the imagination.
The anthology series tells stories that defy the notions of the horror genre and navigate through the sinister, macabre, gothic, and creepy territory. Del Toro’s films are known for the detailed attention paid to a variety of creatures. He also has an eye for robots and mechanical warfare. Del Toro says that Cabinet of Curiosities is a show he “always wanted to make,” but understood that each director had their vision, and he let them take command of the ship for each instalment.
“The world is horrible and beautiful at exactly the same time,” says Del Toro in the trailer for Cabinet of Curiosities.
“We set out to showcase the realities existing outside of our normal world, the anomalies and curiosities. We hand-picked and curated a group of stories and storytellers to deliver these tales, whether they come from outer space, supernatural lore, or simply within our minds”.
“In time for Halloween, each of the eight tales is a fantastical peek inside the cabinet of delights existing underneath the reality we live in.”
Each episode features a different cast, to challenge viewers’ traditional notions of horror. From macabre to magical, gothic to grotesque or classically creepy, these are eight equally sophisticated and sinister tales.
The Episodes to be aired are:
- The Autopsy” directed by David Prior (The Empty Man)
- The Outside” directed by Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night)
- The Viewing” directed by Panos Cosmatos (Mandy)
- Dreams in the Witch House” directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight)
- Lot 36″ directed by Guillermo Navarro (Narcos)
- Pickman’s Model” directed by Keith Thomas (Firestarter)
- Graveyeard Rats” directed by Vincenzo Natali (In the Tall Grass)
- The Mourning” directed by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook)