All the ingredients of horror are there, but the series is not really scary, agrees to say the American and British press. The eight episodes of Cabinet of curiosities by Guillermo del Toro are available in their entirety on Netflix since October 28. If the critics were impatiently awaiting these little sweets, each directed by a different person, chosen by Guillermo del Toro, they did not recognize the genius of the Mexican director in the final result (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, Nightmare Alley…).
The anthology includes one-hour episodes, hosted by Guillermo del Toro himself – à la Alfred Hitchcock or Rod Serling. Only the last of them, Murmuration, written and directed by Jennifer Kent, wowed the New York Times. The daily claims to have rather looked “7 pranks (‘tricks’) and 1 treat (‘treat’)”in reference to the American custom that on Halloween night, children ring the doorbell to ask “a stuffing or a delicacy”.
A fine line-up of directors
Despite “extraordinary special effects”, the touch of the director specializing in horror – “his art of combining technical excellence and visionary clarity to deliver powerful messages” – misses the call, abounds Variety. And the moral, usually deep, of his films is revealed here “simple enough”. According to the American magazine, which still recommends the series to its readers, The Cabinet of Curiosities simply lack of “heart”.
The series has more convinced on our side of the Atlantic. It’s a “absolute triumph”enthuses the British daily The Guardian, which gives 5 stars out of 5 Cabinet. The newspaper cites an alloy “of the most fascinating voices of horror”, including filmmakers Guillermo Navarro, Vincenzo Natali, Ana Lily Amirpour and David Prior, and actor Tim Blake Nelson.
The New Yorker however, concludes: “The main feature of this Cabinet of curiosities is the list of names scrolling through the credits. For despite his mastery in collecting and analyzing cinematic myths, Guillermo del Toro did not forge one himself – he is only a brand.”