Daniel’s review published on Letterboxd:
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities - 3/8
Prepare your stomach. When you have a case come to this. It will never bold too well. Except for audiences. It is the next entry in a series of evil cabinets that spins into the mysterious occurrences of the human body.
Medical horror is tough viewing. It is not for everyone. Including myself. Sometimes the test and the limits pushed by such brutality can only make the experience all the more entertaining at times; in a sadistic way.
Expectations were shattered with this. This is what everyone was waiting for. I will admit: I am likely in the minority that really enjoyed the opening two episodes; but this was on another level; with a haunting new fear.
There are many genres that work well together; not much more though than when you take mystery and weave it into horror. Just making this all the more compelling as you wait to find out more before it all explodes.
Never feels too rushed either. Perhaps a few moments could have been slightly more fleshed out. Nothing that impacted the experience much. And it helps when you have such exceptional direction from David Prior.
One of the up and coming talents: The Empty Man was great but this is likely the best work from Prior to date now. It was perfectly paced with seriously well built dread and tension; and the reveal is quite horrifying.
Not to mention the performances. Most of all with F. Murray Abraham. We know how great he has been throughout his illustrious career; but this is a reminder that he is still not slowing down. Simply phenomenal.
What worked so well too was the reveal felt both satisfying but never too much. Nothing feels overly explained but at the same time: it gives you a little more to really fear than what was seen with the opening episodes.
If it is not the crime mystery element then it is the medical horror. There is a little bit of a few things for viewers with this one; before it closes in with one of the most jaw dropping, intense horror finales this past year.
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