HPL and the modernists

The next three episodes of Cabinet of Curiosities present at least one contrast. Despite Guillermo del Toro's determination to couch each of these tales in some period of the past (as with Lot 36 being set during the Gulf War, despite easily carrying the relevance of a modern-day story), the first episode of this latest trio that we watched is an extremely modernist take on a horror story, whereas the next two, by early 20th-century master, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, are purposefully placed in his contemporary period to ensure that their flavor isn't lost.

The Outside: This episode is definitely the most subtle of any of the tales we've seen so far. While the rest are rather straightforward examples of demons from beyond the veil or alien parasites, The Outside focuses more on the social trials that exist in contemporary society, with the lead character, Stacey's (Kate Micucci), beat-up, old Gremlin being the only clue to the idea that this story isn't taking place in 2022 America, as it's probably intended to be seen, given the increasingly consumerist nature of our present times. Despite its more subtle message, that Stacey is so lonely and isolated that she finds more connection with the mysterious TV host selling her new lotion (Dan Stevens) than with her devoted, practical and well-meaning husband (Martin Starr) and that she's willing to destroy her "acceptable" existence in order to be on the same level as her shallow and broken co-workers, it doesn't really end up feeling "horrific." Yes, the social message is more relevant than rats feeding off corpses and grave robbers, but it's also simply not that entertaining. Stacey is well aware of what she's getting into and pushes forward simply for the thrill of the new experience, in contrast to her old life of eating dinner alone or effectively alone in front of her husband's poker shows. But the fact that her transformation isn't painful or traumatic, but simply irritating, leaves us only mildly intrigued at what's happening, rather than disturbed at the fact that she's proceeding or that she's suffering the equivalent of a bad rash in order to do so. Contrast this with the eerieness of "The Lonesome Death of Jody Verrill" from 1982's Creepshow, where the title character (Stephen King(!)) is obviously disturbed and then terrified by what's happening to him beyond his control. Perhaps just a touch more mania on Stacey's part or a feeling of her loss of control as she does the host's bidding might have generated more response from me and left me feeling a bit more satisfied at the only mildly macabre ending. Again, I appreciated the message, but it feels like the execution was lacking.

Pickman's Model: This is one of those HPL tales that definitely engages with his "things from other dimensions" theme, but largely avoids his namesake mythos, as the title character (Crispin Glover) is a solid mix of both unwilling servant to those unnamed dark forces and eager purveyor of their shadowy entreaties. Screenwriter Lee Patterson definitely was more direct than Lovecraft in his delivery of the material, taking more opportunity to show the viewers just what it was that Pickman was presenting (and encouraging) than the more speculative presentation in the original story. Those are two different horror approaches, certainly, with the original being more of the eerie and unnerving type, while there's no mistaking what's happening in this teleplay. I usually find myself more a fan of the former, but there's something definitely more satisfying about the latter approach in this instance (perhaps the contrast with the generally insufficient sensation from the previous episode?) Ben Barnes as Will Thurber (the narrator of the original version) does a solid job of being the supremely-confident artist who loses control of the scene in both encounters with Pickman and eventually loses everything he values to the more, uh, esoteric world presented by the artist. This is essentially the same message presented by The Outside, but feels more active and overt. That, again, is a different type of horror, so different people are entitled to be more interested in the varying approaches and it's a commendation of both the series and each episode to enable that flexibility within the genre of which it's already a hallmark. I found both the music and Keith Thomas' pacing to a bit more on the mark in this one, as well.

Dreams in the Witch House: This story, OTOH, is firmly rooted in the Mythos that is most famously connected to Lovecraft, as the other dimension that lead character, Walter Gilman (Rupert Grint, of a different HP fame) visits in pursuit of his deceased sister, is the home of the famed Elder Things. Teleplay writer, Mika Watkins, and director, Catherine Hardwicke, are both careful to not hit you over the head with it, however. Walt could be connecting with any, old-fashioned other dimension of plant people that just happens to be reachable by dosing oneself with really good peyote. You have to pay attention to see the hints that they've dropped along the way to really identify the Lovecraft notions that are embodied here, which is a credit to both of them for not having simply served up the obvious to his legions of fans (myself among them.) While I think they might have missed a bit of a chance to bend a bit more in the direction of the Demon Sultan and its mysteries by instead spending a lot more time on Keziah and Brown Jenkins, it's a fair turn to take (creature horror over the unknown of the powers behind it; again, covering all the variations of the genre here) and not unwelcome. I'm still waiting for a really good story about the Flautists, but this one at least mentions them. I can't say that Grint really excels in the role, but he doesn't do it a disservice, either. Similarly, I can't say that I'm as much of a fan of this kind of creature horror, but it's hard to argue against it when thinking of classics like the Universal Horror pictures that this draws from. A bit of a polyglot presentation, but still entertaining in the end.

The last two episodes might take a couple more days to get to (playing Napoli tomorrow, followed by going to see Triangle of Sadness, that I will doubtlessly be writing about here), but should have something up on Wednesday.