Episodes four and five of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities got a reaction out of me. Both of the episodes made me uneasy but for very different reasons. “The Outside” made me uncomfortable because I know how it is to be the awkward person in a group of people. “Pickman’s Model” made me more uneasy than uncomfortable, and it was because of the imagery.
“The Outside” was directed by Ana Lily Amirpour with a teleplay by Haley Z. Boston based on a webcomic by Emily Carroll. It stars Kate Micucci, Martin Starr, and Dan Stevens. I’m a huge fan of all of them. Stevens carries the same energy as Walton Goggins does while playing Baby Billy Freeman whenever he’s onscreen. The effects in the episode are absolutely outstanding. The costumes do so much for the setting and the set design does just as much.
“Pickman’s Model” was directed by Keith Thomas with a teleplay by Lee Patterson based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. It stars Ben Barnes, Crispin Glover, and Oriana Leman. Barnes and Glover do pretty great New England accents. The set and costume designs for the episode make it feel true to the period it is set. The effects in the episode do a lot to show the passage of time during the episode as well as everything else it needs to do in the episode.
“The Outside” gets 9 tubes of lotion out of 10. I give “Pickman’s Model” 8.5 paintings out of 10.