Cabinet of Curiosities season 1 episode 2 recap NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Graveyard Rats."
After exploring greed in the first episode of his Cabinet of Curiosities, Guillermo del Toro gives us the tale of a man fallen from grace in “Graveyard Rats.” Let’s recap what happens in this gruesome episode based on a short story by Henry Kutten, adapted for the screen and directed by Vincenzo Natali.
Everyone is a rat
Welcome to Salem, Massachusetts, famous for its witch hunts but here used as the setting for a story about what happens when you steal from the dead. We open in a cemetery, where two grave robbers are busy going through the coffin of a dead woman who probably never thought this is what would come of her in the afterlife. The grave robbers are not alone, however, as out of the darkness appears graveyard caretaker Masson (David Hewlett), brandishing a gun and strongly advising them to clear off.
Masson is no saint, however, and as soon as the robbers are gone, he himself steps into the coffin to check for gold teeth in the woman’s mouth. He gleefully finds one and takes it out before dropping it in the coffin. But when Masson tries to pick it up, he is bitten by a rat and we will come to rapidly understand that rats are Masson’s sworn enemies.
Cut to the next scene where we find Masson delivering his loot to Hans (Nabeel El Khafif) who tells him that he keeps coming up short. Masson indeed owes a heck of a lot of money to Hans’ employer, and nobody's happy about it. Masson rambles about how he is struggling to find good valuables because the rats are stealing them from the dead, but Hans cares for none of it and tells him he has one week to settle his debt or else…
- Cabinet of Curiosities cast
- Is Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities based on a book?
- Cabinet of Curiosities season 1 episode 1 recap
Into rat territory
Chasing the rats, Masson pulls on the wrong twig and causes rocks and dirt to collapse around him. At first panicking, he recovers and tells himself he will survive this predicament, before swearing vengeance to the rats. But his resilience is short-lived as a swarm of rats comes rushing out behind him and attacks. Masson shrieks and pulls out his gun, which he fires without paying much attention to what he is doing and consequently shoots himself in the foot. The rodents run off but noticing that a particular one is sticking around, Masson fires again and this time blows the rat to smithereens.
That is only a small victory, as Masson quickly catches a glimpse of something much worse than the pack of rodents. Indeed he sees a giant, monstrous rat that starts coming after him. That thing is disgusting and rather unbothered when Masson shoots him before dropping his gun and crawling away. With the monster rat on his tail, grabbing him and pulling him deeper and deeper into the ground, Masson screams in terror.
The graveyard caretaker lands in a sort of cave covered in human bones. Amongst the remains, Masson notices many jewels and valuables that he starts to pick up, including the King George V sword he was so keen to get his hands on. He is delighted, perhaps thinking his luck has turned around but comes to realize that the so-called cave he is standing in is actually the ruins of the Black church. Inspecting the place, he sees a decaying skeleton wearing a golden necklace. And as Masson has obviously never seen Aladdin and does not know the cautionary tale of Abu stealing the red ruby from the Cave of Wonders, he can’t help himself and takes the necklace. Unsurprisingly, that awakens the skeleton which immediately attacks, bites Masson, and yells “Mine!” The creature no longer has legs, giving Masson the advantage to scramble away.
Praying for salvation
As he attempts to escape, Masson prays to the Lord and begs Him to help him as he tries to make his way out of a narrow tunnel. Reception must be off in Heaven because Jesus doesn’t respond and Masson finds himself chased by both the monster rat and the skeleton creature. Armed with the sword, Masson realizes he is surrounded. When the rat pins him to the ground, Masson finds another twig to pull and causes another collapse, smashing the monster to death. Seeing that the skeleton is also trapped, Masson thinks he can be saved and prays while he follows a literal light at the end of a tunnel. But the Lord is still not interested in Masson’s plea and when he reaches the tunnel’s end, the graveyard caretaker finds himself in the shipping merchant’s coffin, now sealed shut. More rats arrive and take care of Masson once and for all.
“Graveyard Rats” had a bookend ending where the graveyard robbers we met at the beginning of the episode come back to open the coffin where Masson now lays dead. Surprised to see him there, they soon notice the jewels he is wearing and reach for the loot. Just then Masson’s mouth opens and out comes a very much alive rat, followed by more rats that start filling up the coffin. It’s a good time to bail and run away, and the robbers don’t think twice about it.
Looking for additional spooky tales? More episodes of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities are available on Netflix.
