Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities: Release Date, Cast, And More

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Thanks to Mike Flanagan, I've come to associate the annual spooky season with the arrival of his latest Netflix horror series, starting with "The Haunting of Hill House" in 2018 and carrying on to "The Haunting of Bly Manor" and "Midnight Mass." That trend will continue in 2022 with "The Midnight Club," but it's far from the only Halloween treat from the streamer this year. There's also "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities," a horror anthology show uniting the talents of the "Pan's Labyrinth" filmmaker with those of many other revered horror storytellers (some of them niche veterans, others spunky up-and-comers).

"Each of the episodes has a whole world. They present you with different delights." So says del Toro in the "Cabinet of Curiosities" first-look. It's a statement that would almost have you thinking the show is some kind of kid-friendly Disney affair and not a collection of nightmares from some of the gnarliest directors in the horror scene right now. But as anyone who knows del Toro can tell you, the series will no doubt have its fair share of heart to go with the chills and thrills. What else would you expect from the guy who looked at "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and said, "Cool story, but you know what would make it even better? More monster-f****** and severed fingers."

"Cabinet of Curiosities" is coming to Netflix exclusively as part of its annual "Netflix & Chills" Halloween event. The series will launch its first two episodes on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, with the remaining six episodes dropping daily in pairs over the three days after on through to Friday, October 28.

Interestingly, this is yet another example of Netflix deviating from its custom of dropping a single season of a TV show on the same day, having also split "Stranger Things" season 4 into two halves earlier in 2022. But while that was done in order to accommodate the season's massive scale and give its creatives the time they needed to finish post-production, it appears the streamer is trying to make "Netflix & Chills" feel like a true "event" this year by spreading Guillermo del Toro's anthology over a week. At the very least, that will make it easier for "Cabinet of Curiosities" to stand out amongst the weekly tides of new streaming titles.

Guillermo del Toro has summarized the series as follows:

"With CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, we set out to showcase the realities existing outside of our normal world: the anomalies and curiosities. We hand-picked and curated a group of stories and storytellers to deliver these tales, whether they come from outer space, supernatural lore, or simply within our minds. Just in time for Halloween, each of these eight tales is a fantastical peek inside the cabinet of delights existing underneath the reality we live in."

If that's not enough to wet your whistle, then the titles and writers for the show's individual episodes might just do the trick. First, there's "Lot 36" and "The Murmuring," both of which are based on original stories written by Guillermo del Toro. Then there are "Dreams in the Witch House" and Pickman's Model," which are based on short stories by H.P. Lovecraft, along with "The Autopsy" and "Graveyard Rats," as adapted from the short stories of the same names by Michael Shea and Henry Kuttner, respectively. Lastly, there's "The Outside" (which is based on a short story by comic book author Emily Carroll) and "The Viewing," as penned by "Mandy" writer-director duo Aaron Stewart-Ahn and Panos Cosmatos.

Guillermo del Toro and his frequent producer J. Miles Dale served as co-showrunners and executive producers on "Cabinet of Curiosities," with del Toro also credited as its creator and host. The show's directors include Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight") for "Dreams in the Witch House," "Vincenzo Natali ("Splice") for "Graveyard Rats," Guillermo Navarro ("Godfather of Harlem") for "Lot 36," Keith Thomas ("The Virgil") for "Pickman's Model," David Prior ("The Empty Man") for "The Autopsy," Jennifer Kent ("The Babadook") for "The Murmuring," Ana Lily Amirpour ("A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night") for "The Outside," and Panos Cosmatos ("Mandy") for "The Viewing."

The show's cast and writing team is just as eclectic and stacked with first-class talent. Their ranks include:

• "Dreams in the Witch House," written by Mika Watkins and starring Rupert Grint, Ismael Cruz Cordova, DJ Qualls, Nia Vardalos, and Tenika Davis.
• "Graveyard Rats," written by Vincenzo Natali and starring David Hewlett.
• "Lot 36," written by Regina Corrado and starring Tim Blake Nelson, Elpidia Carrillo, Demetrius Grosse, and Sebastian Roché.
• "Pickman's Model," written by Lee Patterson and starring Ben Barnes, Crispin Glover, and Oriana Leman.
• "The Autopsy," written by David S. Goyer and starring F. Murray Abraham, Glynn Turman, and Luke Roberts.
• "The Murmuring," written by Jennifer Kent and starring Essie Davis, Andrew Lincoln, and Hannah Galway.
• "The Outside," written by Haley Z. Boston and starring Kate Micucci and Martin Starr.
• "The Viewing," written by Panos Cosmatos and Aaron Stewart-Ahn, and starring Peter Weller, Eric André, Sofia Boutella, Charlyne Yi, Steve Agee, Michael Therrialt, and Saad Siddiqui.

So... who else is eager for Halloween to hurry up and get here already?