• Meet “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” Directors.
• Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is a title that screams decadence on its own.
• There are more than enough new films and television programs this October to get you in the Halloween mood.

“Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” Directors: There are more than enough new films and television programs this October to get you in the Halloween mood.

Of course, this Netflix anthology may be the one to please if there’s a place in the metaphorical stomach for the more unsettling fare. Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is a title that screams decadence on its own.

With two episodes being released each day, it serves as a countdown to Halloween. Guillermo del Toro, the director, will serve as the anthology’s host.

He will invite viewers into both his original and reimagined stories. Additionally, moviegoers are in good hands because it’s del Toro. He discovers the beauty in the monstrous, from Cronos (1993) to Nightmare Alley (2021).

Ghosts, amphibian men, and other monsters are magnificent in design and movement because of the director’s talent. The ones to be on the lookout for are frequently the human characters.

The other talent participating is what makes it more exciting. Guillermo Navarro, who previously worked as del Toro’s cinematographer, is a first-time director.

Directors like Panos Cosmatos and Vincenzo Natali have made odd choices. Little Red Riding Hood was adapted by Catherine Hardwicke, and she will soon adapt a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. This list includes the films you should watch from each director as well as the Cabinet of Curiosities episodes they will each personalize.

Navarro, who serves as del Toro’s cinematographer, has produced both stunning and horrifying visuals. The Devil’s Backbone (2001), one of their collaborations, is the ideal film to watch.

As the Spanish Civil War starts to come to an end in 1939 Spain, Carlos (Fernando Tielve) relocates to a remote orphanage. Once there, Carlos faces numerous threats. The courtyard has a large bomb sticking out of the earth. It did not explode, serving as a lingering reminder of the ongoing conflict.

Carlos must contend with a human monster inside the orphanage as well as a persistent otherworldly presence—a ghost with a startling appearance. Foggy castles are replaced with blue-lit evenings, downpours, and menacing shadows to create the atmosphere of gothic horror. The second of del Toro’s two original films, Curiosities, is directed by Navarro, expanding their working relationship.

Episode 3 of David Prior’s “The Autopsy” (October 26)

In David Prior’s The Empty Man, a disgraced police officer investigating a series of enigmatic murders while residing in a tiny hamlet (2020). It puts the cop in contact with a cult. Prior will deal with more corpses in the Netflix anthology episode he directs, along from the numerous bodies in the 2020 film.

You should watch Empty Man as soon as you can because the episode probably won’t be as long. Spend no time wasting. It’s a journey into occult madness that lasts for more than two hours. You’ll witness things that will make you uncomfortable. Don’t let this one pass you by as 20th Century Fox did by releasing it too soon and marketing it poorly.

Episode 4 of Ana Lily Amirpour is titled “The Outside” (October 26)

Iranian-vampire-western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) is the brainchild of director Ana Lily Amirpour. Despite being filmed in California, is this movie actually set in Iran? Is it truly important? You shouldn’t care about that as much as Amirpour does.

The Girl (Sheila Vand) skateboards down a dark street while wearing a midnight-dark chador. When she’s not working, she displays her fangs by consuming the blood of the foul men who live in Bad City. The whole of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is strange and hypnotic.

The black and white scenes have an ethereal appearance since they lack color. Amazing music selections include psychedelic rock, Iranian music, and American and Iranian music. All of Amirpour’s characters are given care because they are essential to the development of her world. The Girl, though, is a very captivating figure. Vand’s face can either be commanding or lonely. One can only speculate as to what Amirpour will do with her episode until the anthology is out.

Keith Thomas, “Pickman’s Model,” Episode 5 (October 27)

You can watch The Vigil on Hulu (2019). Director Keith Thomas uses a straightforward idea to instill a sense of gradual dread. Although Yakov (Dave Davis) is no longer a part of the Orthodox Jewish society, he still needs money badly. He consents to work as a paid Shomer, a guardian appointed to look after an elderly man who recently passed away.

It should come as no surprise that the job is difficult. The longer Yakov has to perform his obligations as a Shomer, the greater the insidious, creeping dread. A true demon from Jewish legend crawls out of the shadows into reality as he battles his own inner demons. The man is limited to this one location by the lighting, sound design, and editing. Thomas uses this technique to create great shocks, and he will undoubtedly contribute this talent to the anthology for his own adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft short story.

Dreams in the Witch House, episode 6 of Catherine Hardwicke (October 27)

Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) is the young lady sporting the recognizable crimson cloak in Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood (2011), a dark fantasy adaptation of the fairy tale. When compared to the dangerous wolf lurking nearby, her worries about an arranged marriage seem insignificant.

This is not your typical wolf. A werewolf is attacking Valerie and her family, friends, and neighbors. When Valerie grinds on a buddy at a dance to make the guy she adores jealous, the movie does border on the ludicrous. The film, for the most part, is entertaining and true to its dark dream. The well-known story is updated when you hear the band Fever Ray, and it fits in perfectly.

The set and color scheme are exquisite, with “Grandma’s cottage” standing out as being especially stunning. Rupert Grint, who plays the lead in the anthology episode “Dreams in the Witch House,” will experience the cosmic horrors of another Lovecraftian adaption. Hardwicke has written tales involving werewolves and vampires. Witches can be incorporated into her filmography after Curiosities is released. Watch Red Riding Hood on Netflix while you wait.

Episode 7 of Panos Cosmatos, “The Viewing” (October 28)

Cosmatos’ films have an unearthly feel to them. Mandy (2018) is a prime illustration of this. However, 2010’s Beyond the Black Rainbow is a wholly unique creature. The strongest aspect of the film, as is customary with Cosmatos, is the visual storytelling.

Perhaps more significant than the story is the tone. There is no doubt about the man’s cunning intentions when harsh red illumination is shone on Dr. Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers) when he makes an effort to speak with the prisoner Elena (Eva Allan). There are unavoidable parallels to Stranger Things in this story. It is influenced by Black Rainbow. Both feature a psychically gifted female prisoner and are set in 1983.

But while the Netflix series focuses on teenage friendships and small-town charm, Cosmatos’ film takes an acid trip into a New Age conspiracy. What the director has planned for “The Viewing” is a mystery. Maybe something even crazier than his earlier endeavors?

Episode 8 of Jennifer Kent’s “The Murmuring” (October 28)

The Babadook (2014), Jennifer Kent’s first feature film, stars Essie Davis as Amelia, who has trouble controlling her kid. When a mother and son come across a children’s book with increasingly gory pop-up drawings, they are compelled to face their problems. The creep element is not limited to the novel. What a sight the monster in the title is! A wiry torso, a pasty white face, and spiky fingers.

Amelia serves as the film’s emotional center and the psychological terror it explores. This woman is a widow who is fighting to move past her painful past in order to save her son. Without a doubt, Kent will make “The Murmuring” just as eerie as her debut. Essie Davis also works alongside the director. It will also be one of just two episodes for which Del Toro penned the original script.

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