To the strains of Charles Gounod’s “Funeral March of a Marionette,” the eponymous director stepped out from his own curvaceous, comic-book-style silhouette at the start of each episode of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” It was a sight gag bursting at the seams with subtext. During that time, Hitchcock also released “To Catch a Thief,” “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest,” “Psycho,” “Marnie,” and “The Birds.” Instead of worrying about television’s impact on cinema, Hitchcock conquered the newer medium. The opening gambit implied that the only TV maestro capable of escaping the Master of Suspense’s looming shadow was the master himself.
Carl is introduced to all of the bodies he will examine about halfway through the film, and we are treated to a real-life game of Operation. The tools are brought out, and the fun begins. The investigator begins to pry open these corpses, and the camera never fails to show all of the authentic human insides in all of their glory. Lungs, rib cages, hearts, and other organs are displayed up close and personal. The investigator wants to see the effects of the mine explosion on these organs, but the audience begins to suspect that this assault on the remains of the dead will mean much more.
J. Miles Dale, the producer of Cabinet of Curiosities, told Den of Geek that some of the encounter’s gory details made him bat an eye or two. You know you’re watching something terrifying when the material scares the producers.
“Using an exacto knife to stab your eyes and ears is about as cringe-worthy as it gets.” To be honest, that one still makes me cringe. “And I’ve seen it at least 25 times,” Dale says.
Netflix is now streaming four episodes of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Every day until Friday, Oct. 28, two new episodes will be released.