Ranking Cabinet of Curiosities: Season 1’s Episodes From Worst to Best

Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities was one of the best treats horror fans got this Halloween season — eight short horror films each directed by a different director, all of them introduced by Del Toro himself. The show is up there with Black Mirror and Love, Death & Robots as one of the best anthology experiences Netflix has to offer.

However, like all anthologies, not every entry is a winner. Which episodes contain the show’s highest highs, and which ones the lowest lows? Are all episodes worth watching, even if some succeed in entertaining more so than others? We’ll be answering these questions as we rank all of Cabinet of Curiosities’s eight episodes, from worst to best.

 

8. The Outside

Director: Ana Lily Amirpour

It’s been said time and time again that horror and comedy are two genres that, on paper, shouldn’t work well together, but plenty of horror comedies have gotten acclaim from both critics and audiences. Unfortunately, The Outside is here to remind us of how things can still go very wrong when pairing horror and comedy together.

This episode is far too silly to be effective as a horror, but it’s also too juvenile for any of the jokes to land. It attempts to be a satire on beauty culture and toxic femininity but is so in-your-face with its themes that it becomes downright annoying and exhausting. Not to mention, beauty products aren’t exactly terrifying, so the supposedly scary scenes come across as laughable.

gives a likable performance as the protagonist Stacey, yet her talents are wasted on a teleplay and direction that constantly has her making goofy faces or saying lines in a weird manner. The Outside simply isn’t particularly funny or scary, resulting in the show’s most forgettable offering.

 

7. Lot 36

Director: Guillermo Navarro

With one of the writers being Del Toro himself — and this being the show’s premiere — it’s a big disappointment that Lot 36 has ended up so low on this list. While there’s nothing actively terrible about it, this episode of Cabinet Of Curiosities has too little going for it to be memorable. Most of the excitement comes from the last five minutes, and while these last few minutes are good, they’re also too short and quickly over to be rewarding.

Most of this episode instead focuses on building up the climax. While horror’s no stranger to slow burns, the first two acts are largely lacking in atmosphere, feeling boring and tedious at times, and the payoff feels too insufficient to be effective. The episode ends right when it feels like things are starting to get good.

However, Tim Blake Nelson does give a terrific lead performance and the visuals are delightfully creepy at times. Sadly, Lot 36 is bogged down by slow pacing and a sore lack of substantial scares.

 

6. Graveyard Rats

Director: Vincenzo Natali

It’s often said that too many cooks spoil the broth, but so do too many ingredients. Graveyard Rats tries to do so much with its short runtime that it ends up being overkill. In many ways, it almost feels like the direct opposite of Lot 36 — where that episode was too slow-paced with too little going on, this episode feels too fast-paced with too much going on.

It eventually reaches a point of unintentional cheesiness, so much so that it becomes a little hard to take the episode seriously. Still, too much is better than too little when it comes to horror and when Graveyard Rats gets the balance right, it gets it right.

There’s so much fun to be had here, from the great costume designs to the lovely-looking sets to the insanely restless third act, and David Hewlett shines as the protagonist Masson. This episode could’ve benefited significantly from director and teleplay writer Vincenzo Natali showing some restraint, but it’s hard to fault a storyteller so determined to entertain.

 

5. The Viewing

Director: Panos Cosmatos

Much like Lot 36, The Viewing decides to save all of its thrills and scares for its final act, but unlike Lot 36, this episode manages to make its first and second acts interesting even if nothing’s really happening. There is so much unsettling atmosphere here that it’s hard to feel bored, even when the characters have been in the same location just talking for the past fifteen minutes.

This is largely thanks to a successful marriage between cinematography and music — director and writer Panos Cosmatos clearly wants you to feel like you’re watching an old film, with the neon-drenched shots going perfectly with the 80s-inspired score.

Unfortunately, this episode of Cabinet Of Curiosities does overstay its welcome a bit — there’s only so much talking you can sit through before you start to wonder when the actual frights start. Luckily, The Viewing has a game enough cast and a talented enough director that its slow-burn approach works, even if not completely.

 

4. Pickman’s Model

Director: Keith Thomas

H. P. Lovecraft is considered a horror genius for a reason, so adapting any work from him is a daunting task for anyone trying to do so. Luckily, director Keith Thomas and teleplay writer Lee Patterson ended up being a great (if not perfect) pair for the task. Pickman’s Model is a deliciously dark and eerie adaptation of Lovecraft’s story that manages to frighten and get under your skin for most of its runtime.

Yes, a few moments feel rushed and confusing — certain scares show up out of nowhere only to never be explained or seen or brought up again — but the episode delivers well on its creepiness factor, as well as its macabre visuals. So many scenes look and feel terrifying in the way only Lovecraft stories can.

This is all bolstered by fantastic performances from both Ben Barnes and Crispin Glover as the protagonist and antagonist, respectively. If either character was played by someone else, this Curiosity wouldn’t have been nearly as good. Satisfyingly sinister and frightening, Pickman’s Model gets Lovecraftian horror right.

 

3. The Murmuring

Director: Jennifer Kent

While you could argue that haunted houses are the most overused setting in the horror genre, The Murmuring proves plenty of great stories can still be told from it. The familiarity of the episode’s tale may drive away some viewers (a married couple move into an old house, one of them starts seeing ghosts, and starts investigating), but the episode is so well shot, directed, and acted that it still provides an enthralling experience even with its clichés.

Quiet and unhurried but never listless, The Murmuring manages to capture and keep the viewer’s attention through its profound writing, as well as superlative performances from its leads, Essie Davis and Andrew Lincoln. In the hands of another director and writer, this episode of Cabinet Of Curiosities could’ve easily been a mediocre hour, but Jennifer Kent proves that her talent for genuinely heartfelt storytelling through horror is still as present as it was when she made The Babadook in 2014.

 

2. Dreams in the Witch House

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Another episode based on a story by H. P. Lovecraft, Dreams in the Witch House is not what most would call a stylistically faithful adaptation, but the episode is so good regardless that it’s very much able to stand on its own. Soaked in atmosphere, Dreams in the Witch House is absolutely hypnotizing to watch, feeling very much like a bedtime story for adults, only darker.

There’s a sense of insidious magic throughout the entire thing and no line feels wasted — it’s exciting and fast-paced without ever feeling too bloated or rushed. There’s a tight story here and Dreams in the Witch House refuses to let a minute be just filler. This episode also features the most visually impressive villain in the entire season, Keziah, whose character design is stunning, every scene with her a visual delight.

Spooky, alluring, and addictive, Dreams in the Witch House will have you holding your breath throughout its entire runtime, unable to look away.

 

1. The Autopsy

Director: David Prior

If you only watch one episode of Cabinet of Curiosities, and if you’re any sort of a fan of horror, you need to watch The Autopsy. Right from the first scene, the episode grabs your attention and never lets it go until the last minute — and even then, you’re still likely to feel its phantom grip around you long after the end credits roll.

This short film does pretty much everything right when it comes to making an entry for a horror anthology series. It’s tightly plotted, beautifully shot, captivatingly atmospheric, and, most importantly, genuinely scary. The Autopsy doesn’t play lightly when it comes to its visuals — certain scenes can be downright stomach-turning, one of the best feelings an anthology show like this can give you.

Director David Prior and teleplay writer David S. Goyer succeed greatly with the directing and writing of this episode, gifting us with 56 minutes filled with tension, thrill, and frights, but the talents in front of the camera are just as great as the ones behind it. F. Murray Abraham and Glynn Turman knock it out of the park as the two leads, forming easy-to-root-for main characters with a genuine sense of friendship between them.

An unforgettable experience, The Autopsy is a gem of a short horror film and easily the best episode that Cabinet Of Curiosities’ first season has to offer.

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