Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (or simply Cabinet of Curiosities) is a horror anthology television miniseries created by Guillermo del Toro for Netflix. It features eight modern horror stories in the traditions of the Gothic and Grand Guignol genres. Two are co-written by del Toro himself, while the others are written and directed by various filmmakers.
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities premiered on October 25, 2022. The series received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its directing, performances of the cast, production values, and special effects, but some criticism for its pacing and some writing aspects.
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. Del Toro credits Rod Serling's Night Gallery as one of the inspirations for his Cabinet of Curiosities, specifically in the manner with which Serling opens and closes each episode. He told an interviewer, "I have incredibly vivid memories of the series, of the fear that enveloped me when I watched each episode: the fantastic opening featuring those wide-angle faces, distorted and grimacing; Gil Mellé's incredible music that created feelings of both fear and excitement; and Rod Serling's carefully phrased introductions of Tom Wright's horrific and dread-filled paintings that haunt my imagination to this day."
The central conceit of the series is the opening of a cabinet of curiosities one section at a time, each episode corresponding to a different curiosity from the cabinet.
Production Development
On May 14, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order. Executive producers included Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale, and Gary Ungar. Del Toro also served as writer for one episode and handpicked other writers and directors to helm other episodes.
In September 2021, The Hollywood Reporter announced that The Babadook filmmaker Jennifer Kent would write and direct an episode starring the film's lead Essie Davis. The season would consist of seven other episodes, to be directed individually by Ana Lily Amirpour, Panos Cosmatos, Catherine Hardwicke, Guillermo Navarro, David Prior, Vincenzo Natali, and Keith Thomas, with writers such as Regina Corrado, Lee Patterson, Haley Z. Boston, Mika Watkins, and Aaron Stewart-Ahn. The series was described as "in production", according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Filming Principal photography of the series 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.
Episodes
Reception The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 93% of 56 surveyed critics gave the series a positive review; the average rating is 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Horror maestro Guillermo del Toro lends his household name to a collection of spooky tales directed by genre veterans and promising newcomers – with each curious trinket adding up to a treasure trove of gothic storytelling". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Accolades Year Ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result 2023American Society of Cinematographers AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture, Miniseries, or Pilot Made for Television Jeremy Benning Anastas Michos Art Directors Guild Awards Excellence in Production Design for a Television Movie or Limited Series Tamara Deverell Cinema Audio Society Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Non-Theatrical Motion Pictures or Limited Series Rob Beal, Paul Shubat, Michael Woroniuk Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards Best Special Make-Up Effects in a Television Series, Television Limited or Miniseries or Television New Media Series Sean Sansom, Mike Hill Visual Effects Society AwardsOutstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time ProjectAmit Khanna, Oleg Memukhin, Mario Marengo, Josh George Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Streaming Limited or Anthology Series Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Anastas Michos Outstanding Period Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Luis Sequeira, Ann Steel, Heather Crepp Outstanding Main Title Design Mike Schaeffer, Chet Hirsch, David Rowley, Akshay Tiwari Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program Sean Sanson, Shane Zander, Kyle Glencross, Mike Hill, Megan Many Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music Holly Amber Church Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) Tamara Deverell, Brandt Gordon, and Shane Vieau Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special Nelson Ferreira, Jill Purdy, Paul Davies, Bernard O’Reilly, Paul Germann, Tom Jenkins, Robert Hegedus, Rose Gregoris, Goro Koyama 2024Canadian Screen Music AwardsBest Original Score for a Dramatic Series or SpecialJeff DannaHoward Druckman, "Peter Chapman earns five nominations in 2023 Canadian Screen Music Awards". Words & Music, September 19, 2023. Saturn Awards Best Television Presentation Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
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