Of all the stories in Guillermo del Toro’s new anthology series, Cabinet of Curiosities, “Lot 36” has perhaps the most relatable premise: What’s the worst thing you could possibly find in an abandoned storage unit?
On a reality TV series, the answer might be a dead animal or a hundred life-sized dolls. In the world brought to life in “Lot 36,” it’s something much more terrifying.
Is “Lot 36” based on a true story?
This particular episode was written by del Toro himself, with Regina Corrado, and directed by del Toro’s longtime collaborator, Guillermo Navarro, who’s revered for his cinematography work. The idea came from an experience del Toro had in real life.
“I lost my storage unit to a person that bought it at an auction,” del Toro tells Tudum. “It was such a nightmare experience for me to try to buy back what was in there. So the character is basically me, pleading with the guy that bought my unit to give me my personal things back.”
🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐
However, “Lot 36” isn’t told from the perspective of the person trying to reclaim their belongings, but the person on the other end of the transaction. Tim Blake Nelson’s character, Nick, buys the units at auction, then scrounges what he can from them. And although he isn’t exactly a good person, he’s a fascinating character.
“It’s at the advent of far-right nationalist conservatism in the US, so it’s way before Trump. But you can trace the roots of Trump, and Trumpism, in this character,” Nelson says. “He’s a Vietnam vet who feels underappreciated by the US. But in his mind, it’s just this amalgam of disappointment and patriotism and, I’d say, psychological desperation.”
It’s that desperation that leads Nick to the hidden room at the back of the storage unit — and to his unenviable fate.
How did they make the “tentacle demon”?
“Lot 36” features a dreadful buildup, and luckily, the episode’s climax delivers quite a payoff. Nick and Roland (Sebastian Roché) make a deadly discovery behind the storage unit’s false wall.
The demon trapped there, tentacles thrashing with unsated hunger, was created with a blend of digital and practical effects, according to Navarro.
“This is a combination that has a great proportion of what’s moving physically, and then extended by digital accents,” the director says. “She’s a very, very strong presence. It’s definitely [going] to scare you.”
He also used playful techniques like shooting the actor playing the demon at a different speed and playing her footage backward. The effect is uncanny. Nelson called it “one of the most terrifying creatures I’ve ever seen on-screen.”
The secrets of creating horror
As a director, Navarro relies on the language of film to create horror.
“It’s the narrative of the camera that’s taking you to places, finding faces, searching spaces with the actor,” he says. “So the camera is really driving the story.”
Nelson expressed admiration for Navarro’s directing, as well as every other aspect of Cabinet of Curiosities’ production.
“What has made working on this remarkable is that del Toro and J. Miles Dale [the executive producer and showrunner] took Guillermo’s first team from the films he shoots up here in Toronto, so The Shape of Water, and Nightmare Alley as well,” the actor says. “And they put them on this anthology series. So the lighting design, the costume design, the hair and makeup, the production design, the direction, it’s all absolutely first rate… [Navarro] has become an extraordinary director in his own right, and I actually predict he’s gonna direct some incredible features, although he’s mostly worked in television.”
Del Toro strove to empower each episode’s director to create something special. “Guillermo Navarro and I have a partnership of decades, and I’m always amazed at how good he is as a director. I worked with him in a cinematographer capacity. But I love what he does as a director, he says. “With all these directors, I wanted to create a perfect environment for them to deliver a perfectly crafted little piece and give them the tools to deliver that.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is streaming now on Netflix.
