Every awkward Christmas party nightmare comes true in “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities”

• Eight terrifying tales told by eight exceptional voices can be found in Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.
• We receive fresh interpretations of HP Lovecraft’s works, chilling gothic horrors, and, precisely in the series’ middle, a covert but still terrifying Christmas special. “
• Christmas has long served as a setting for horror movies and TV shows.

Eight terrifying tales told by eight exceptional voices can be found in Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. This is yet another strong effort by Netflix to revive the anthology genre, in the vein of Black Mirror and Love, Death, and Robots, and is hosted by the acclaimed director of the same name. We receive fresh interpretations of HP Lovecraft’s works, chilling gothic horrors, and, precisely in the series’ middle, a covert but still terrifying Christmas special.

“The Outside,” episode four of season one. The plot of the film, which is loosely based on Emily Carroll’s webcomic Some other Animal’s Meat and was directed by A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’s Ana Lily Amirpour, centers on Kate Micucci’s character Stacey, a clumsy banker and amateur taxidermist who finds it difficult to blend in with her attractive, self-absorbed coworkers and grows more self-conscious of her appearance. She becomes addicted to Alo-Glo, a new lotion that claims to completely transform her into something better. Captivated by enticing television advertising and alone except for her usually absent husband, the village sheriff (Martin Starr), she does this while watching television alone. The only issue is that she appears to be extremely allergic.

This tale is fundamentally a repulsive body horror. Watching Stacey’s body break out in growing rashes in a way that feels real before it spirals into the weird, but not on a Cronenberg scale, makes your skin itch. There are undoubtedly many levels to this tale, and even while its issues of body image and the beauty business have been discussed, there is still much to be said about “The Outside” as a brand-new Christmas horror story.

This episode’s mise-en-scene, which takes place just before Christmas, is decked out with tinsel and carolers, and the episode’s instigating incident occurs during a secret Santa exchange at work. Of course, this is nothing new; noteworthy examples include Black Christmas, Krampus, and Silent Night, Deadly Night. Christmas has long served as a setting for horror movies and TV shows. With killer Santa Clauses, gingerbread men, and murderers at Christmas parties, these films typically aim to subvert the reassuring aesthetic and iconically happy symbols of Christmas into something that shocks and disturbs. What if this typically joyful and family-friendly holiday was replete with gore, guts, and obscenities? is a straightforward yet powerful question.

There is a lot of potential for Yuletide dread that appears to go overlooked, even while these movies are excellent when they are at their most effective, which admittedly can be rare. Because despite the fact that the holidays emphasize the best qualities of humanity—charity, love, and goodwill toward all—this isn’t often the case in practice. Christmas may be the loneliest and busiest time of the year for a lot of people.

For those who can’t afford to heat their home, let alone buy presents; for those who fear seeing their family again for both personal and political reasons; for the underprivileged retail workers who are crushed by last-minute gift rushes. Seasonal depression, money troubles, or not having someone with whom to celebrate, all while being suffocated by excessive consumerism and forced celebration. Christmas comes with so many demands that everything must be flawless and that everyone must be content, which frequently makes problems worse rather than better.

I vowed not to throw a Christmas party ever because of that. Although I don’t see the holidays with cynicism, the pressure of expectation can be daunting. When you’re not feeling it, crossing snow-covered streets under shimmering lights might feel chilly and lonely. I’ve never seen the psychological and personal dread that this time of year can bring portrayed as well, or as subtly, as in “The Outside,” even though some movies like Krampus and The Lodge touch on the horrors of family dysfunction during the holidays, or a movie like Silent Night shows forced joy while the world burns around you.

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