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Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 8 (The Murmuring) Review

Finally a horror series where you might not want Andrew Lincoln’s character dead! The actor famous as hero (annoying) cop Rick Grimes in ‘The Walking Dead’ series, plays ornithologist Edgar Bradley in Episode 8 of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

Directed by Jennifer Kent, ‘The Murmuring’ follows ornithologist couple Edgar and Nancy Bradley (Essie Davis) while they nest in an old secluded sea-side home to study flights patterns of Dunlins. Still reeling from a heartbreaking loss, Nancy starts to see and hear sinister things on the property. Are they hallucinations of a tired mind or the truth of a haunted house with a tragic past?

I loved the juxtaposition of bright sea-side mornings brimming with the twittering of birds against the gloomy ghostly house drowning in darkness and demons of the previous inhabitants. The outdoor cinematography is stunning and watching the Bradleys capturing the behavior of birds looked straight out of a wildlife documentary, but the scenes also had a personal domestic touch as the couple seemed to be genuinely fond of the winged creatures. So despite their shared trauma and grief, Edgar and Nancy are the happiest when they are doing their job.

At first glance, Andrew Lincoln and Essie Davis look like an odd onscreen pair, but they make their characters work. The creators use old horror tropes for scares, but ‘banging on doors in the middle of night in a large creepy house’ is still as eerie as ever. The supernatural part of the story was quite predictable and tame, but the whole 1950s settings of two ornithologists trying to understand birds was fascinating to watch.

It’s a 8/10 from me.

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Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 7 (The Viewing) Review

If ‘curiosity’ is the central theme of Guillermo der Toro’s latest production, the 2022 horror anthology for Netflix, then its 7th episode displays that dangerous itch in the head for knowledge at its best. Curiosity killed the cat after all.

Titled ‘The Viewing’, the seventh chapter’s directed by Panos Cosmatos, who has co-written the script with Aaron Stewart-Ahn. ‘Stranger Things’ fans will be thrilled with the synth-pop music playing through the story that’s set in 1979. Four strangers are invited by the mysterious wealthy Lionel Lassiter (Peter Weller) for ‘a viewing’ to his massive futuristic mansion called ‘The Sandpiper House’. The first character viewers get to see on screen in scientist Charlotte Xi (Charlyne Yie), who looks like Velma from the Scooby-Doo cartoon has been brought to live. And then the four are driven to their host, and it appears as if the Scooby gang has hopped onto their mystery van to investigate something horrifying.

Once the four strangers arrive at the Sandpiper House, things get bizarre, unsettling, philosophical and a tad bit pretentious. Peter Weller’s Lioner Lassiter is an omnipotent host of sorts, who know exactly how his guests like their drinks and has the best stuff in the world to serve them. Sofia Boutella plays co-host Dr. Zahra, and together they all drink and do drugs to heighten their senses so they can be completely prepared for the ‘viewing’. Panos Cosmatos and team use tools and techniques that not only make the story look like it’s taking place in the 70s, but it also looks like it has been made in the 70s. The cinematography is grainy, with orange-yellow shades pervading each scene, as if you’re watching a remastered campy horror film from the past.

The cast is fantastic, Panos hand-picked actors he’s always wanted to work with. Eric Andre plays music producer Randall Roth, who isn’t confident about his next album; Steve Agee is cocky best-selling author Guy Landon who looks down at everybody with mirth and Michael Therriault plays the cooky psychic Targ Reinhhard. But something about a bunch of privileged people (even if talented) getting high with a billionaire and discussing random things was slightly snooze-y. There’s a lot of foreplay before the climactic horror, so the slow-burn built up to ‘The Viewing’ obviously gave me ample idea about what the end could possibly be like, but I was hoping to be surprised, to see something more insanely dramatic then what we are served. So the conclusion was a little predictable and oddly dissatisfying.

It’s a 6.5/10 from me for the 7th episode.

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Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 6 (Dreams in the Witch House) Review

Another episode based on a H.P. Lovecraft tale! Directed by Catherine Hardwick, ‘Dreams in the Witch House’ stars Rupert Grint as Walter Gilman, a man obsessed with finding a way to communicate with his dead twin sister. Disclaimer – as a Grint fan, I may have enjoyed this short film a lot more than someone who isn’t an admirer.

Again, like ‘Pickman’s Model’, the creators of this episode aren’t able to do justice to Lovecraft’s preternatural nightmare about otherworldly dimensions and human sacrifice. Instead, we get a childish, simplistic version, which might disappoint those who’ve read the original, but it still manages to be entertaining. Walter Gilman is a possessed man who goes about town seeing psychics, mediums, madmen and just about anybody who claim they can talk to the dead. One night, he meets two strange men who possess a drug which can lead one to the ‘forest of the dead’, that night, Giman’s life changes…

The episode begins with the brilliant juxtaposition of a young ginger-head Gilman (Gavin MacIver-Wright) sitting beside his deathly pale sick sister Epperley (Daphne Hosikins). And even though the two kids are very much alive in the opening scene, the room feels split between the land of the dead and living. Well done make-up department, well done. Epperley passes away in front of her brother, who then sees her screaming spirit being dragged into a forest. From then on, Gilman devotes himself to finding a way to get back to his dear sister and a witch’s house might hold the key to his desires.

From the way it’s been produced, ‘Dreams in the Witch House’ resembles a period fantasy horror tale, featuring a witch-demon akin to villains from children films. The climax doesn’t fit within the mood and framework of the rest the story and is rather comical. Worked just fine for me though, left me with a satisfied chuckle.

It’s an 8/10 from me for this episode.

Also Read: Cabinet of Curiosities Episode 1 (Lot 36) Review

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Listen To ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?’

Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 5 (Dreams in the Witch House) Review

Another episode based on a H.P. Lovecraft tale! Directed by Catherine Hardwick, ‘Dreams in the Witch House’ stars Rupert Grint as Walter Gilman, a man obsessed with finding a way to communicate with his dead twin sister. Disclaimer – as a Grint fan, I may have enjoyed this short film a lot more than someone who isn’t an admirer.

Again, like ‘Pickman’s Model’, the creators of this episode aren’t able to do justice to Lovecraft’s preternatural nightmare about otherworldly dimensions and human sacrifice. Instead, we get a childish, simplistic version, which might disappoint those who’ve read the original, but it still manages to be entertaining. Walter Gilman is a possessed man who goes about town seeing psychics, mediums, madmen and just about anybody who claim they can talk to the dead. One night, he meets two strange men who possess a drug which can lead one to the ‘forest of the dead’, that night, Giman’s life changes…

The episode begins with the brilliant juxtaposition of a young ginger-head Gilman (Gavin MacIver-Wright) sitting beside his deathly pale sick sister Epperley (Daphne Hosikins). And even though the two kids are very much alive in the opening scene, the room feels split between the land of the dead and living. Well done make-up department, well done. Epperley passes away in front of her brother, who then sees her screaming spirit being dragged into a forest. From then on, Gilman devotes himself to finding a way to get back to his dear sister and a witch’s house might hold the key to his desires.

From the way it’s been produced, ‘Dreams in the Witch House’ resembles a period fantasy horror tale, featuring a witch-demon akin to villains from children films. The climax doesn’t fit within the mood and framework of the rest the story and is rather comical.

It’s 7/10 from me for this episode.

Also Read: Cabinet of Curiosities Episode 1 (Lot 36) Review

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF

Listen To ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?’

Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 5 (Pickman’s Model) Review

Winner of a prestigious student art prize, William is both talented and charming, but his sanity is threatened when he befriends new fellow Richard, whose artwork is disturbingly real and terrifying. Titled ‘Pickman’s Model’, the fifth episode of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.

The story starts off in 1909 and both the settings and the art theme reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ (a classic horror tale in its own right), which was published the same year Lovecraft was born. And then there’s the fact that Ben Barnes played Dorian Gray in a 2009 film. Anyway… as the plot progresses in ‘Pickman’s Model’, it’s easy to see that it lacks the moral depth of Wilde’s work and thus isn’t as grotesque or scary as the creators want it to be.

Ben Barnes plays protagonist William Thurber with the right amount of charisma; but viewers don’t get to know much about the character, making it difficult to care about him at all. He is just a handsome lad who meets a weird dude who draws creepy things that mess with one’s mind. Things get out of hand. End of story. The horror tropes employed were mundane – ugly witches, severed heads, creepy crawlies. Yawn. Yawn. Granted it might have been scary when Lovecraft wrote it, but a 100 years later, the writers of the show needed to add some tweaks to surprise and thrill seasoned fans of the horror genre.

Or maybe the second I compared the story with ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, my expectations from the horror short shot up through the roof, hence the disappointment. Sixty minutes weren’t enough for the onscreen adaptation to do justice to the tale. Although, visually, it was a well-crafted episode, conjuring up a beautifully gothic 20th century America.

It’s a 6.5/10 from me.

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‘Blue Lock’ Episode 3 Review

Finally! An episode where there’s plenty of play. The first two episodes of Japanese anime series ‘Blue Lock’ set the ground for a twisted story, where several teen athletes are isolated in a state-of-art facility to train and produce the best soccer player of the nation. But viewers don’t see the characters play the sports much, not until episode three.

Titled ‘The Zero Soccer’, the boys are informed by Ego (the psycho dude in-charge of the ‘Blue Lock’ program) that they’ll finally face each other in team matches and create soccer from ‘zero’. Isagi Yoichi (the protagonist in case you forgot) along with everybody else have no clue what that’s supposed to mean. The players only know one thing for sure – if they are on the losing teams, it means bidding farewell to their dreams. Only two winning teams and the highest scorer in each group will get to stay, the others must pack up. Losers will never get to represent Japan on the national level. So, buckle up for some crazy chaotic ‘free for all’ soccer!

The administrative side of the story which is introduced in Episode Two doesn’t get any space in the episode; which is fine, because it’s all about soccer and survival in this edition. Neither Isagi, nor the rest of the players in ‘Blue Lock’ feel like they are playing real soccer, with each one only trying to score a goal to save their skin instead of helping the entire team win. Is this what Ego meant about ‘creating soccer from zero’? A desperate Isagi attempts to unlock the meaning of his words.

Some of the internal monologues of the characters are low-key hilarious and it’s entertaining to watch the kids treat the matches as a matter of life and death. With a ridiculous climax and plenty of grandstanding, episode three makes for a fun watch. You can stream ‘Blue Lock’ on Netflix. New episodes drop Sunday.

Also Read: ‘Blue Lock’ Episode 1 Review

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Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 4 (The Outside) Review

Kate Micucci is not new to playing a social outcast, but she is almost unrecognizable at first glance in Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities and absolutely brilliant as the lead in the episode titled ‘The Outside’.

Based on a short story by Emilly Carroll and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, ‘The Outside’ is a terrifying twisted satire on the beauty industry. Micucci is bank employee Stacey, whose doesn’t fit in at work, where all her colleagues all attractive bitchy women obsessed with men, money, make-up and all things materialistic. Stacy is content with her post-office domestic life, watching television and doing taxidermy. All that changes when she is invited to an all women Christmas party for the first time. Something in Stacey snaps and she spirals into a disconcerting circle of self-harm, as she attempts to look ‘beautiful’.

‘The Outside’ reminds one of the animated short film titled ‘Boyd in 3D’, which was part of the ‘Diabolical’ anthology and had a dark take on absurd beauty standards too. However, while the colorful animated world of ‘Boyd in 3D’ also explored the toxic ramifications of ‘social media’, Stacy’s story is set in the 20th century, where television was still the biggest ‘influencer’. The cinematography is wondrously retro, with sets drenched in orange hues, so the tale has more of a ‘Halloween’ vibe than Christmas.

This episode doesn’t serve the kind of traditional horror fans would expect, but it’s nerve-wracking and arresting. Kate Micucci’s performance is the absolute heart of the story and her character gets a brief ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ moment that’s pretty memorable. The climax is unexpected and hilariously dark.

It’s a 8/10 from me for this one.

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Listen to – ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?

Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 3 (Autopsy) Review

Oh freaking hell, as much as I did not enjoy watching the third story in Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, the 2022 Netflix anthology, it was a chilling, dark, science-fiction horror tale. Trigger-warning: prepare your gut for a lot of mangled innards and gore.

Directed by David Prior, the third short titled ‘Autopsy’ is based on a story by Micheal Shea. The initial mood of ‘Autopsy’ was akin to a western, maybe because of the era it’s set in. Glynn Turman plays Nate, a cop looking into a string of strange missing persons’ cases; the investigation takes a bizarre turn when nine men die in a coal mine explosion and the tragedy appears to be linked to the disappearances. Murray Abraham plays Dr Carl, who conducts an autopsy on the corpses to help ascertain the cause of the deaths. But nothing prepares the doctor for what he is about to uncover during the postmortem.

Just like ‘Lot 36’ (the first episode), ‘Autopsy’ too takes time before things get intriguing and anxiety inducing. An old man cutting up the dead in a rundown remote facility that doesn’t even have a phone? The setting definitely calls for some dread. And the cinematography is simple, stark, which adds a sense of reality to the outlandish plot. In-fact, the first few seconds were surprisingly picturesque, the camera focuses on what looks like a lovely night sky filled with stars at first glimpse, but as the lens slowly zooms out, you realize it’s glistening coal. That brief sense of beauty is disrupted by an unexpected explosion at the mine, claiming several lives.

Now, I am no expert at human anatomy, but the creators don’t shy away from explicitly displaying organs being scooped by the doctor and they looked pretty authentic. So, there was a lot of blinking and looking away from the screen in quiet terror (yeah, not scream worthy though). Half of the story feels ‘old-school’ thriller and the rest of is sci-fi horror. ‘Autopsy’ gets a little cliched in the end, with some stale philosophical arguments, but a surprisingly triumphant climax makes for a satisfactory curtain call to the tale.

It’s a 7/10 from me for this episode.

Also Read: Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 2 (Graveyard Rats) Review

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Cabinet of Curiosities Ep 2 (Graveyard Rats) Review

‘Payback!’ is the theme so far in Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, a Netflix horror anthology with eight short stories. The second one starts off at one of the best setting for a supernatural short – a huge creepy cemetery.

Titled ‘Graveyard Rats’, it’s based on a short story by Henry Kuttner and deftly directed by Vincenzo Natali. Interestingly, the protagonist of this tale is eerily similar to the first one – a greedy white man who exploits the dead to pays off his debts. Macabre, gross and even mildly comedic, the second story has all the ingredients of a good horror short, reminiscent of gothic works by literary writers like Edgar Allan Poe. While an exact date isn’t made clear, the plot probably unfolds some time in the early 1920s; a gravestone at the beginning had the date ‘1900-1919’ inscribed on it. If not for that little giveaway, I would’ve assumed it to be taking place in the late 1800s.

David Hewlett delivers an entertaining performance as Mr Masson, a grave robber who plans to rob the coffin of a wealthy merchant. But Masson must first fight an army of rodents and something more sinister to steal the riches buried with the corpse. Despite most scenes taking place in the night, the cinematography is crisply clear and not annoyingly dark. The episode doesn’t have any chilling moments, is barely scary, but the plot are settings invoke a perfectly good gothic ambience, and there are enough things happening to keep viewers amused until the very end.

It’s a 7.5/10 from me for ‘Graveyard Rats’.

Also Read: Episode 1 (Lot 36) Review || Ep 3 (Autopsy) Review

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF

Listen to “Devil in Ohio Review + Ending Explained”

Cabinet of Curiosities – Graveyard Rats

‘Payback!’ is the theme so far in Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, a Netflix horror anthology with eight short stories. The second one starts off at one of the best setting for a supernatural short – a huge creepy cemetery.

Titled ‘Graveyard Rats’, it’s based on a short story by Henry Kuttner and deftly directed by Vincenzo Natali. Interestingly, the protagonist of this tale is eerily similar to the first one – a greedy white man who exploits the dead to pays off his debts. Macabre, gross and even mildly comedic, the second story has all the ingredients of a good horror short, reminiscent of gothic works by literary writers like Edgar Allan Poe. While an exact date isn’t made clear, the plot probably unfolds some time in the early 1920s, for a gravestone at the beginning had the date ‘1900-1919’ inscribed on it. If not for that little giveaway, I would’ve assumed it to be taking place in the late 1800s.

David Hewlett delivers an entertaining performance as Mr Masson, a grave robber to who plans to rob the coffin of a wealthy merchant. But Masson must first fight an army of rodents and something more sinister to steal the riches buried with the corpse. Despite most scenes taking place in the night, the cinematography is crisply clear and not annoyingly dark. The short doesn’t have any chilling moments, is barely scary, but the plot are settings invoke a perfectly good gothic ambience, and there are enough things happening to keep viewers amused until the very end.

It’s a 7.5/10 from me for ‘Graveyard Rats’.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF

Listen to “Devil in Ohio Review + Ending Explained”