An Average Movie-Goer’s Review
No spoilers! If you would like spoilers – check out the Spoiler post
I love horror movies and if I’m going to watch them anyway, why not write an entertaining/funny review from the POV of an average movie-goer and not a professional critic.
Today we’re looking at Netflix’s Pickman’s Model. The fifth mini-feature of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
An artist meets another talented artist whose drawings of monsters and witches appear to come to life and infect his mind.
Is Cabinet of Curiosities: Pickman’s Model (2022) Scary?
Pickman’s Model is definitely the scariest of the Cabinet of Curiosities mini-films but it’s not a high bar to clear. Aside from the few jump scares, there are plenty of unsettling scenes and some gory ones that will make you squirm.
Overall you might actually leave this episode a bit scared especially if you have a friend who is into drawing demonic monsters and murderous witches.
All of our Cabinet of Curiosities Explanations/Reviews:
Ep. 1 – The Lot No Spoiler Review
Ep. 2 – Graveyard Rats No Spoiler Review
Ep. 3 – The Autopsy No Spoiler Review
Ep. 4 – The Outside No Spoiler Review
Ep. 5 – Pickman’s Model No Spoiler Review
Ep. 6 – Dreams in The Witch House No Spoiler Review
Ep. 7 – The Viewing No Spoiler Review
Ep. 8 – The Murmuring No Spoiler Review
Review:
Pickman’s Model is good. The acting, dialogue, and story are all well done. The story is an adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name and while things are changed to accommodate the change in medium, I think it was done effectively. I will say that there are some pretty big plot points that are done better in the story but the extra parts added for the episode, is extremely effective.
Sticking with just a critique of movie since this is Average movie reviews and not Average reading reviews, the episode is definitely my favorite of the Cabinet of Curiosities but it does have it’s issue. First and probably what stands out the most is, what is going on with Crispin Glover’s Boston accent in the role? He is laying it on thick, at some points it feels like a parody and I could see some people not being able to get over it.
Some character motivations are pretty weird and questionable. Unfortunately for one of the characters, you won’t get the answers to their motivations but the way the story is told, you won’t be too bothered by this.
The effects for some of the scares are well done and effective but this is not true for all of the episodes attempts to scare you. I think the saying “less is more” definitely applies here and is followed for the most part. When it doesn’t follow it though, it’s really throws you off. One of the scares specifically left me unsatisfied.
Overall I highly recommend giving Pickman’s Model a watch. It’s not the best horror movie you’ll watch but it’s the creepiest and most unsettling of the Cabinet of Curiousities.
Cast IMDB
Stuff to Ignore
Rotten Tomatoes – No Individual Page
Metacritic – No Individual Page