History YMMV / GuillermoDelTorosCabinetOfCuriosities

* AntiClimaxBoss: [[spoiler: Keziah Mason in "Dreams In The Witch House". After menacing the heroes for half the episode, she is suddenly and easily physically overpowered by the ghost of a child.]]

** Also, instead of [[spoiler:the Ghouls being hairy canine-human-hybrids, as they were described in Lovecraft's work, they instead get a more amphibian/frog-like appearance - more in line with pop-cultural perception of Lovecraft's work instead of the actual short story it was based on.]]

* ShoutOut: The aftermath of the alien reveal in ''The Viewing'' closely resembles the scene following the opening of the Ark of the Covenant in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' - initial incredulity and ridicule followed by melting faces, exploding heads, burning bodies.

** The other Lovecraft adaptation in the series, ''The Dreams in the Witch House'', are just as far removed from Lovecraft's story as ''Pickman's Model'' thanks to extraneous characters and drastic changes to the plot and characters, to the point of being an InNameOnly adaptation with the basic premise and some character names retained but not much else.

** Masson of "Graveyard Rats" is a graverobber, a hypocrite, a liar, a coward, and his actions throughout the episode are hardly laudable... but thanks to being played by Creator/DavidHewlett in full [[Series/StargateAtlantis Rodney McKay mode]], he comes across as [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain pathetic]] rather than genuinely contemptible. It helps that he's not explicitly malevolent, just a desperate man who's ALSO trying to repay dangerous loan sharks, and is otherwise far more polite and friendly towards others than Nick.

** Masson of "Graveyard Rats" is a graverobber, a hypocrite, a liar, a coward, and his actions throughout the episode are hardly laudable... but thanks to being played by Creator/DavidHewlett in full [[Series/StargateAtlantis Rodney McKay mode]], he comes across as pathetic rather than genuinely contemptible. It helps that he's not explicitly malevolent, just a desperate man who's ALSO trying to repay dangerous loan sharks, and is otherwise far more polite and friendly towards others than Nick.

** Nick in ''Lot 36'', to some extent. Nothing he does is criminal, he's just a callous and angry bigot desperate to repay some dangerous loan sharks. At least some of his bitterness is due to his experiences as a combat vet.

*** Even further, some people wonder how much of the episode actually happened and how much was just Stacey growing delirious, likely from her allergic reaction. Did the TV really talk to her? Did she actually transform in the end? [[spoiler:Indeed, did she even actually kill her husband? He radioed for help but the ending would require for his coworkers to have ignored this and his disappearance completely.]]

** "Pickman's Model": Does Pickman actually see Thurber as a friend and just can't take a hint when Thurber rejects him? Or is he deliberately stalking him as revenge for not defending him when he got kicked out of the art school? [[spoiler:And is he deliberately driving people to cannibalistic insanity with his gallery, or just blind to the effects of his own art due to his bizarre worldview?]]
** "The Viewing": [[spoiler:Is the alien hostile? It's entirely possible that it is simply a frightened animal using whatever it has as a defense resource to protect itself when it seems to be literally surrounded by humans (which themselves would be animals it had never seen), and the gruesome deaths it inflicts are more of a case of nature just doing what it would do anyway.]]

** Masson of "Graveyard Rats" is a graverobber, a hypocrite, a liar, a coward, and his actions throughout the episode are hardly laudable... but thanks to being played by Creator/DavidHewlett in full [[Series/StargateAtlantis Rodney McKay mode]], he comes across as pathetic rather than genuinely contemptible.

** Also, instead of [[spoiler:the Ghouls being hairy canine-human-hybrids, as they were described in Lovecraft's work; they instead get a more amphibian/frog-like appearance - more in line with pop-cultural perception of Lovecraft's work instead of the actual short story it was based on.]]

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some fans of Lovecraft's work feel this way about the episode that adapts "Pickman's Model". To whit: Instead of keeping the slowly building, creepy atmosphere and Pickman as a somewhat creepy, yet ambiguous figure; they [[spoiler:have Pickman rambling in a passive-aggressive manner each time he and Thurber are alone, and have a scene of him using a dismembered cat as a model; and add in a number of nightmare sequences as well as a general GoindMadFromTheRevelation - effect to Pickman's paintings that ends up driving both Thurber's friend and wife insane; instead of those just being unsettling and the twist ending being the reveal that the paintings are based on real photos Pickman has been taking of the Ghouls.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Masson of "Graveyard Rats" is a graverobber, a hypocrite, a liar, a coward, and his actions throughout the episode are hardly laudable... but thanks to being played by Creator/DavidHewlett in full [[Series/StargateAtlantis Rodney McKay mode]], he comes across as pathetic rather than genuinely contemptible.
** Also Nick in ''Lot 36'' to some extent. Nothing he does is criminal, he's just a callous and angry bigot desperate to repay some dangerous loan sharks. At least some of his bitterness is due to his experiences as a combat vet.

* ShoutOut: The aftermath of the alien reveal in ''The Viewing'' closely resembles the scene following the opening of the Ark of the Covenant in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' - complete with melting faces, exploding heads, burning bodies.

** "The Viewing": [[spoiler:Is the alien hostile? It's entirely possible that it is simply a frightened animal using whatever it has as a defense resource to protect itself when it seems to be literally surrounded by humans (which themselves would be animals it had never seen), and the gruesome deaths it inflicts more of a case of nature just doing what it would do anyway.]]

* "The Viewing": [[spoiler:Is the alien hostile? It's entirely possible that it is simply a frightened animal using whatever it has as a defense resource to protect itself when it seems to be literally surrounded by humans (which themselves would be animals it had never seen), and the gruesome deaths it inflicts more of a case of nature just doing what it would do anyway.]]

** "Pickman's Model": Does Pickman actually see Thurber as a friend and just can't take a hint when Thurber rejects him? Or is he deliberately stalking him as revenge for not defending him when he got kicked out of the art school? [[spoiler:And is he deliberately driving people to cannibalistic insanity with his gallery, or just blind to the effects of his own art due to his bizarre worldview?]]

** "The Outside": Stacey's friend, Gina, throws a secret santa party in which she gives all of them the Alo Glo product, boasting about its power and how expensive it is. Because of how vague a lot of this segment is, this leaves a few things up for interpretation and discussed. Is it possible that Gina is working with Alo Glo to make other people abide to it? Or is she genuinely just interested in sharing a product she trusts with her friends (possibly while also gloating about her wealth)?
** To what extent is Stacey's alleged exclusion and bullying just her own low self-esteem talking? While her coworkers are shallow and gossipy, they aren't actually shown saying or doing anything that would hurt her. It could be that they simply don't have anything in common and indeed seem almost as awkward talking to Stacey as vice versa.
** Even further, some people wonder how much of the episode actually happened and how much was just Stacey growing delirious, likely from her allergic reaction. Did the TV really talk to her? Did she actually transform in the end? [[spoiler:Indeed, did she even actually kill her husband? He radioed for help but the ending would require for his coworkers to have ignored this and his disappearance completely.]]
** "The Pickman's Model": Does Pickman actually see Thurber as a friend and just can't take a hint when Thurber rejects him? Or is he deliberately stalking him as a revenge for not defending him when he got kicked out of the art school? [[spoiler:And is he deliberately driving people to cannibalistic insanity with his gallery, or just blind to the effects of his own art due to his bizarre worldview?]]

* "The Autopsy": Is [[spoiler:the alien truthful when it claims that its species has infiltrated deep into humanity and controlled the fall of entire nations? If that was the case, why would it hide away as a lowly itinerant worker, rather than contacting its peers and enjoying whatever it considers as luxury and safety with everything that human wealth can provide? Is it actually the only one on Earth, or is it a some sort of fugitive from its own kind?]]

** Even further, some people wonder how much of the episode actually happened and how much was just Stacey growing delirious, likely from her allergic reaction. Did the TV really talk to her? Did she actually transform in the end? [[spoiler:Indeed, did she even actually kill her husband? He radioed for help but the ending would require for his coworkers to have ignored this and his disappearance completely.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: "The Outside": Stacey's friend, Gina, throws a secret santa party in which she gives all of them the Alo Glo product, boasting about its power and how expensive it is. Because of how vague a lot of this segment is, this leaves a few things up for interpretation and discussed. Is it possible that Gina is working with Alo Glo to make other people abide to it? Or is she genuinely just interested in sharing a product she trusts with her friends (possibly while also gloating about her wealth)?
** Even further, some people wonder how much of the episode actually happened and how much was just Stacey growing delirious, likely from her allergic reaction. Did the TV really talk to her?