Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities – the Autopsy – review

Director: David Prior

First aired: 2022

Contains spoilers

Cabinet of Curiosities was a Del Toro executively produced anthology series, where the great director introduces each episode, which was released in time for Halloween 2022 on Netflix and proved to be a strong series of episodes that drew from Lovecraft (2 of the episodes are based on Lovecraft shorts) amongst others.

The autopsy is based on a short by Michael Shea and is the closest the series got to a vampire episode – though this is not so much your undead vampire but an alien vampire amongst us.

running through the mine

The episode starts with men getting into a mine elevator. It starts to descend when a miner, Joe Allen (Luke Roberts), jumps onto the elevator roof. Close to the shaft he jumps down to the floor and runs along, a large ball-like object in his arms. He manipulates it, lights moving on it, and releases it, continuing his run. Shards seems to float and an explosion rocks the mine.

Winters and Craven

Dr. Carl Winters (F. Murray Abraham) arrives in town. An old friend of the sheriff, Nate Craven (Glynn Turman), he has been called in to autopsy the bodies. The mining company will not pay out unless those killed were killed in the pursuit of their employment – if Allen set off a bomb, as suspected, they do not have to pay out worker’s compensation. Before they head to the rather desolate looking morgue, Craven tells Winters about the disappearances in town.

the body

He relays that they were up to 6 disappearances when, on one search of the woods, they found a body, covered in tarpaulin and stowed in a tree. The body had been butchered, professionally it seemed, but more noticeable there wasn’t a drop of blood in the flesh. They took pictures and put the body back, leaving a couple of hunters to watch for someone returning – they vanished along with the corpse. They did, however, get an ID as Abel Dougherty (James Acton).

in the bar

Dougherty had met a man, Joe Allen, in a bar and was convinced he was actually Eddie Sykes a friend who vanished two months before when he went hiking to watch a meteor shower. As we watch the flashback we see Allen use eye mojo to hypnotise Sykes and walk him from the bar. Allen and Sykes are the same person and, in his rooms, the sheriff finds a murmuring, vibrating ball that Sykes/Allen found in the woods – the object from the beginning. They take the object and go to find Allen at the mine, but he smashes a car window, takes the ball and runs to the shaft (returning us to the opening of the episode).

bloodless organs

Winters goes to the morgue and sends the Sheriff home to rest whilst he starts to work. The second corpse he examines has a strange hole penetrating the chest and when he opens him up the lungs and heart are drained of blood. The next body has a similar chest wound and no blood left within. Photos from the mine suggest that the two exsanguinated bodies were found next to Allen's corpse – Winters articulates (to Craven via the tape recorder) his crazy thought that the blood from the two might be in Allen’s stomach.

the creature

It's round about then that Allen’s corpse starts to become ambulatory. Cutting sutures from his mouth (a small detail that made little sense as there hadn’t been an autopsy yet – but perhaps put in as a deliberate nod to Del Toro’s Cronos), he asks for help, saying he is trapped in the flesh and is starving. What we have is a parasitic alien creature that inhabits a host and feeds on the flesh and blood of others. It seems that the creature also feeds on pain and fear – it admits to reinvesting energy stolen from the two miners, whose blood it consumed in the cave, to keep their brains alive and directly feed in the information of what it was doing to them. It also suggests it gets a sexual pleasure from the feed, experiencing orgasms through the host’s body.

F. Murray Abraham as Winters

The sphere was its ship and the explosion was as a result of it having to destroy it on discovery to keep the species hidden. The creature itself was larval when it landed but it has grown and is a tentacled thing reliant on its host for senses such as sight and hearing. This was a cracking, atmospheric little film made all the more powerful by F. Murray Abraham’s powerhouse performance as the dour, terminally ill coroner (the parasite can smell his cancer through Allen’s senses and calls it delicious). The verbal sparring between Winters and Allen is superb. 7.5 out of 10.

The episode's imdb page is here.

The Outsider – season 1 – review

Director: Various

First Aired: 2020

Contains spoilers

I recently discovered that the Stephen King novel the Outsider is, at heart, a vampire novel. I then discovered that it was filmed as a 10-episode series by HBO and is available on VoD. Now, I will say that the lore on this is a tad different to normal and that there is both a flesh consumption and energy vampire aspect to the evil at the heart of the series. There are tropes played with as well (and to examine those I’m afraid there will have to be serious spoilers – I’ll mark the most egregious just ahead of them). The V word is used a couple of times only.

The pacing of the series is fairly slow – though it is explosive at the end – and this is one of them shows that you might want to catch and then read what I have to say. Timelines sometimes weave, without explicitly telling you that you have jumped, but the structure does work.

grizzly find

Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman) is a family man, with two daughters, and is a little league coach. That world comes crashing down around him when local detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) arranges for two uniformed cops to pick him up, at a game and in front of the town, for the murder of Frankie Peterson (Duncan E. Clark). Frankie has been found in the woods, torn to shreds, evidence of bite marks and sexual violence. Terry is confused, he claims innocence.

Terry bloodied

For Ralph, the case is open and shoot. They have found a van with Frankie and Terry’s DNA and Terry’s fingerprints, there is DNA evidence on the body. He has witnesses who saw him pick the boy up in the van, saw him covered in blood and who spoke to him. He has video evidence of Terry going into a strip club to change in the toilets, testimony from a taxi driver and more video at the Amtrax station. Unfortunately, more evidence starts to arrive – Terry claims he was away at a conference that day and witnesses, fingerprints and TV footage put him in the other location.

Hooded figure

Meanwhile the Peterson family have grief placed upon grief. Frankie’s mom (Claire Bronson) goes mad with grief and has a fatal heart attack. His brother (Joshua Whichard) manages to get a gun and, when being taken to the courthouse, attacks Terry – shooting three cops and fatally wounding Terry before being shot dead by Ralph. Alone, Frankie’s dad (Frank Deal) hangs himself. Ralph is a realist and the contradictory evidence nags at him. On administrative leave following the shooting he ends up joining forces with an investigator (Jeremy Bobb) working for Terry’s lawyer (Bill Camp). Meanwhile we see, at the sites of the tragedies, a figure in a hoody – who seems (to the viewer) to have a distorted face.

Cynthia Erivo as Holly

So we gain the most of the supernatural knowledge through an investigator, Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo), who tracks down the points of intersection not only of Terry – and the van that was used – but also of two other alleged child killers, all of whom seem to be interconnected. She comes to the conclusion that a bogeyman creature – the term El Cuco is used – is killing the kids. The name seems to be a variant of Cucuy – which we met in the film Muerte: Tales of Horror and which had a vampiric look, at least. I preferred another name in the series, mentioned once, El Glotón Para Dolor – the Grief Eater. It seems that this thing, as well as eating flesh (it will eat animals, and it eats children because they are sweeter) feeds off the grief of the families, whose lives it destroys. The energy of the kin of the one whose form it has taken are the most potent, due to them being of the same blood – and it can tap into grief from the remains of past generations.

Eating Flesh

It takes a face (and the DNA, fingerprints etc) and the memories of the patsy for the crimes, through a scratch that draws blood, inflicted whilst still in the form of the previous stolen identity. It can, whilst in someone's form, see through their eyes and know what they know. After feeding it starts to transform into the next one with its blurred face being the transition between the two. There is some evidence that it can spiritually project itself to interact with people, even beat someone up like that, but that it may be physically weak. Its spiritual projection, and its physical presence, can leave a residue (that, when analysed, the labs can’t identify).

the rash

It can also get itself a Renfield – during the primary investigation this is maverick detective Jack Hoskins (Marc Menchaca). Jack is attacked and a brand (for want of a better description) is put on his neck – a rash that blisters and causes agonising pain and is therefore used to control him (with the rash easing when he obeys). The connection with El Cuco can make him see things and it is Jack we see attacked by the non-substantial projection of the creature (in the form of his mother (Denny Dillon)). We see the fate of a previous Renfield, committing suicide by cop to escape the guilt, the pain and the insanity.

So, in the next paragraph are the major spoilers.

Jack beaten for failing

I mentioned that the V word is used – but it is not an explicit descriptor. There is a joke about a Yiddish vampire (and the episode name reflects that, The One About the Yiddish Vampire) and the word is used in dialogue once when Jack asks Holly “So, what is it?... Vampire? Satan? Joker? A Guilty Conscience?” She doesn’t know. However, when it is confronted by the show's version of the crew of light it is pinned with a stalactite through the chest (but on the right) and then stabbed in the heart. This isn’t enough to kill it though, as one protagonist realises, but does tie into early tropes where stakes pin the vampire to their grave. The knife is removed and its mobile hand stabbed and pinned (to stop it scratching, one assumes) and its head caved with a rock (arguably akin to beheading) but before the rock comes down its face morphs through the last few of the faces it has stolen – which reminded me of the souls escaping Barlow at the end of Salem’s Lot (2004). There is a post credit sequence built to make one wonder at the finality of the kill – so that, although this was meant to be a one-shot series there is a pathway for it to return, like any good vampire. I’ll also mention that we see an armadillo in the cave in which El Cuco is found – now they are found in Georgia but it did bring Dracula (1931) to mind.

Ben Mendelsohn as Ralph

And there you have it. El Cuco uses many of the vampire tropes and both eats children and feasts on negative energies. I mentioned that the pace is quite slow – preferring to look at the psychological journeys of Ralph, his wife Jeannie (Mare Winningham, American Horror Story: Hotel) and the impact on Terry’s family, especially his wife Glory (Julianne Nicholson). It also takes a lot of time to follow Holly, who identifies herself as an outsider due to her gifts – she seems to be on the spectrum and also have some form of savant syndrome. Holly is a fantastic character and sympathetically portrayed by Cynthia Erivo. The pace might be off-putting to some but trust me that it does explode at times especially as it goes into the finale. There are some questions left standing around the ending, that I won’t spoil as they are not lore related (or at least add nothing further to the lore discussion). However this kept me watching and I fairly much binged the series. 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

What we do in the Shadows – season 1 – review

Director: Various

Release date: 2019

Contains spoilers

Taking its cue from other mockumentary films in which vampires have been followed by a film-crew going about their day to day lives, What we do in the Shadows (2014) was a solid vampire film, with a firm grasp of the genre and a joy to watch, being a genuinely funny comedy.

It is unsurprising, though welcome, that it has spawned a spin-off TV series. Same universe, same premise (a film-crew following vampires) but a new group of vampires and a new location – the series relocating from New Zealand to Staten Island.

main cast

Our vampires are Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry, Snow White and the Huntsman) and his wife Nadja (Natasia Demetriou). A further vampire in the household is energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) and Nandor’s familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) is also resident. Their lives are turned upside down when an ancient vampire, Baron Afanas (Doug Jones, Universal Dead, Hocus Pocus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron & Night Angel), comes to stay and wishes to know why they haven’t claimed dominion over the New World.

Laszlo, Nadja and Nandor

The show, like the movie, has a genuine love of the genre – poking fun but in a knowing way that works really well. We get another werewolf pack, and a neat way of duelling them, erotic topiary and Laszlo having to shout bat when he transforms into one, a vampire orgy and Colin almost meeting his match with an emotional vampire (Vanessa Bayer). Through Guillermo we discover the frustration of being a familiar, waiting for his master to turn him (and also some nice comedy moments with him as with the vampires).

council members

The episode to mention, however, is 7: the Trial, that sees the vampires brought before the vampire council and, having first met vampire criminals Garrett (Dave Bautista) and Vasilika the Defiler (Alexandra Henrikson), it becomes a who’s who of guest stars from the vampire genre. Firstly Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement and Jonny Brugh reprise their characters from the What we do in the Shadows movie. All the other council members we meet are named for their actor so Tilda is played by Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive) and we also get Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood), Danny Trejo, Paul Reubens (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992 – the movie)) and by skype the daywalking Wesley Snipes (Blade, Blade 2 & Blade Trinity). It’s a smorgasbord of screen vampire fun and underlines that this revels in the genre it spoofs. 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Honourable mention: Justice League

Before I begin, let’s get one thing straight. I really like the DC Universe movies. I get that many don’t, but I do. I like the dark edge, I enjoy the movies and, unlike many, I like the oeuvre created by Zack Snyder and that includes this 2017 film. Of course, notably, Snyder was unable to complete the film and Josh Whedon was drafted in – honestly, I’d like to see it pure Snyder.

So now you are wondering how I managed to crowbar vampires in? Well, take a seat and I’ll explain... but first, for completeness. This follows Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and, at the start, Superman (Henry Cavill, Blood Creek) is dead. Batman (Ben Affleck) is aware that something is coming and wants to pull a team of metahumans together. He has found Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and is aware of the existence of the Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher).

captured parademon

Almost from the head of the film we see our vampiric element in the form of parademons. We see Batman lure one, using a burglar as bait as they are attracted to fear. The things fly and have sharp pointed teeth. He tussles with one of them in the air and manages to catch it by netting it against brickwork. The captured parademon explodes, leaving a pattern in its remains of three boxes. As things develop we discover that the parademons are the minions of film baddie Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) – OK Steppenwolf was thinly drawn as a bad guy but the film only needed a foil, the point was getting the heroes together.

turning

When we get the backstory we are told that these minions feed on fear – so emotion eating energy vampires – we are also told that when Steppenwolf kills an enemy they come back as a parademon and see a warrior killed and turning. This, of course, makes them less the demon of their name and more undead. Further evidence as to the direction the filmmakers were going in is given later on when Gotham police get reports of them describing one as a vampire and another as a giant bat (of course that connects Batman into the description).

described as a vampire

You might then wonder why an Honourable Mention, rather than classing the film as a vampire film and reviewing it? Mostly because, whilst a part of the film they feel background. This is probably down to the fact that they are simply minions and also that the focus of the film is the forming of the league through adversity and the nature of that adversity is mostly unimportant. Nevertheless, they would seem to be a type of vampire, essentially in fleeting visitation. The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

On DVD @ Amazon UK

Red Dwarf: Polymorph – review

Director: Ed Bye

First aired: 1989

Contains spoilers

In the UK, for people of a certain age, Red Dwarf is an institution. Comedy at its finest, it followed the misadventures of a group of misfits on the mining spaceship Red Dwarf.

The basic premise was that technician, and self-confessed lazy slob, Lister (Craig Charles) had been frozen in stasis having illegally brought a cat on board the ship. Following this there is an accident, caused by his overtly neurotic and bureaucratic bunkmate Rimmer (Chris Barrie, the Young Ones), and the crew are killed by a Cadmium II leak.

Hattie Hayridge as Holly

3 million years later the ship’s computer, Holly (in season 3 played by Hattie Hayridge), deems the radiation danger to be over and revives Lister. Holly also brings Rimmer back as a hologram to help keep Lister sane. As the series started the other occupant of the ship was the Cat (Danny John-Jules, Blade II), a creature evolved from Lister’s pet cat (which was safe in the hull when the leak occurred). This episode was from season 3 and by that time the android character Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) had been made a permanent character.

the polymorph

Now, as I say, this was an institution but I never thought to consider any episodes for this blog. I started rewatching the show from the beginning on Netflix and when I watched this episode it became apparent that I would have to cover the episode – after all the creature they encounter is described as, “sort of an emotional vampire”. Essentially a pod in space containing a genetic mutation experiment is breached and the creature gets aboard Red Dwarf.

Robert Llewellyn as Kryten

It is a polymorph, turning into a variety of objects and people. At one point it becomes a pair of boxer shorts that Lister puts on. The shorts begin to shrink necessitating Kryten (who happens to be wearing a vacuum cleaner groinal attachment) to pull them off. Apparently, according to IMDb, the live studio audience laughed so long at that gag that Chris Barrie had to wait several minutes to deliver the next line. The creature uses its polymorph abilities to provoke negative emotion in its prey and then eats the negative emotion.

sucking emotion

This feeding leads Lister to lose his fear, Kryten his guilt, the Cat his vanity and Rimmer loses his anger. They all get their emotions back once the creature is destroyed but, in the meantime, their personalities have all changed. Rimmer proposes (as a right on activist) to call the group hunting the creature The Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society – I’ll let you work out the acronym. The creature was a product of Earth, an attempt to create a perfect warrior that could change shape to adapt to any terrain – it is, however, completely insane.

Craig Charles as Lister

Season 3 was a brilliant season of Red Dwarf – the dynamic of adding Kryten into the regular characters worked splendidly and this was a great episode. Definitely worth 8 out of 10 as an episode.

The episode's imdb page is here.