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Editor’s note: The below article contains spoilers for Cabinet of Curiosities episode “Lot 36.”
One day, we will all be dead. And once that happens, our darkest secrets will become someone else’s curse. That’s precisely what happens in “Lot 36,” one of the horror stories in Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. With an original story by Guillermo del Toro and a script penned by Regina Corrado (The Strain), “Lot 36” takes place in a storage facility that holds disturbing truths. On top of a bone-chilling original story, “Lot 36” is directed by Guillermo Navarro, the cinematographer of some of del Toro’s most beloved movies, such as Pan’s Labyrinth, Cronos, and Pacific Rim. That means the episode is gorgeous and will most certainly give you some new nightmares.
“Lot 36” happens on one day in the life of Nick Appleton (Tim Blake Nelson), a war veteran who came back to the U.S. only to face poverty and debt. It is no wonder Nick is so angry all the time. Still, unfortunately, the veteran’s rage was channeled into unhealthful behaviors, such as his hatred for immigrants, Black people, and women’s rights. In short, Nick is a hot-headed extremist who doesn’t show any sign of respect for people who don’t look exactly like him, which will prove to be his doom. But first, before we recap the gruesome fate Nick faces at the end of “Lot 36,” we must turn our gaze to a lonely man (James Neely) in a dirty apartment.
It’s Only Business
The year is 2003, which we can tell by watching President George W. Bush give a speech about the invasion of Iraq. More than giving us a precise timeframe of when “Lot 36” takes place, the speech connects to the episode’s protagonist, Nick, himself a veteran. The speech also tells something about the lonely man in the apartment, a German soldier who came to the U.S. after World War II. The man follows the same daily routine, eating a pre-made meal and chopping raw bunnies, before visiting his storage unit, Lot 36. No one knows why the man goes there every single day, entering the unit with a bag filled with something and leaving one hour later with an empty bag. However, Nick won’t even bother wondering why until it’s too late.
The lonely man becomes important to Nick after he dies of a heart attack. With no heirs to claim his storage unit, all the belongings kept at Lot 36 go to auction. Nick is tipped by the storage facility’s manager, Eddie (Demetrius Grosse), and is ready to give the highest bid to claim Lot 36 as his own. As we soon find out, Eddie has the habit of taking some extra money on the side, and by tipping Nick, they both can profit from other people’s tragedies. Since the owner of Lot 36 has had the storage unit since 1945, when the facility was open, Eddie is confident that there should be something valuable there. Good for Nick, as he’s in debt with some dangerous people who want their money the next day.
Nick begins to explore the hidden treasures of Lot 36, taking out the trash and collecting everything of value he can find. He also notices Lot 36 is a lot smaller than other units, which Eddie attributes to the building being raised before any regulation determined the size of each room. So there are smaller and bigger units, with some even being connected. Meanwhile, we meet Emilia (Elpidia Carrillo), a middle-aged woman of Latin descent who’s not fluent in English. So, of course, she’s just the kind of person Nick loves to hate. And unfortunately for Emilia, she depends on Nick’s goodwill.
A few months back, Emilia moved away, so she never got the eviction notice from Eddie due to unpaid fees. The error was from Eddie, who simply forgot Emilia told him about the address change. Nevertheless, Eddie put Emilia’s storage unit up for auction, and Nick was the buyer. Emilia begs Nick to let her take a look at the storage unit just to recover personal items with no material value, such as photographs and old letters. Nick tells Emilia he’s the owner of her storage unit now, and it’s not his problem if she can’t keep track of her payments.
We get some catharsis by the evening when Nick is tracked down by a loan shark who roughs him up and breaks his truck’s windshield. Nick is $1200 short and needs to sell some items as soon as possible. So, Eddie gives him the address of Agatha (Martha Burns), a woman who can give him a reasonable price for some weird items Nick found in Lot 36. Besides some ancient chairs and a gold candleholder, Nick is in possession of a big wooden table with a pentagram drawn on top. The veteran doesn’t know yet, but that is a séance board used to summon demons. And Lot 36’s former owner has many more disturbing secrets inside his storage unit.
The Demon of Lot 36
After Nick gets to Agatha’s store, the pawn shop owner is most intrigued by the séance board. Together, they find a secret compartment in the board containing three ominous books: “Liber Primus: Daemonia,” “Liber Secundus: Symvolia,” and “Liber Tertius: Perilipsi.” Agatha doesn’t take the books herself, but she knows another man who’s specialized in the subject. And so Roland (Sebastian Roché) comes to the store.
Rolan reveals to Nick that the three books are worth ten thousand dollars, more than enough for the veteran to pay his debt, fix his car, and survive a couple of months. However, the collection usually has a fourth book, “Liber Quartus: Sacramentum,” the rarest of them all. If they find the fourth volume in Lot 36, Roland is ready to sign a check for 300 thousand dollars. The offer is too good to pass on, so Nick agrees to take Roland back to the storage unit.
On their way to the storage facility, Roland confesses he knows the original owner of Lot 36. He was a German involved with the occult, who many said to have offered his sister, Dottie Wolmar (Lize Johnston), as a vessel to a demon. In fact, the fourth volume of the book collection is so rare because it automatically combusts once said demon claims a soul and puts an end to the contract it sealed with the summoner. But since the original owner died from a heart attack, the demon must still be alive, and the precious book remains unburned. As for the gold candleholder, it can protect people from the demon’s powers. Of course, Nick doesn’t believe a word of what Roland tells him, but he’s still determined to find the book and get some considerable payment.
While looking at every nook and cranny of Lot 36, Nick and Roland discover a secret door leading to a gloomy corridor. There are many crucifixes hung along the corridor and book pages that look like coming from the Bible and other sacred texts. At the end of the corridor, the duo finds the demon, and Nick can no longer deny what’s in front of his eyes. Dottie remains trapped on the floor in the middle of a summoning circle. The woman’s face is replaced with a black hole, from where tentacles reach out menacingly. The precious books stand right next to her, open over a pedestal.
Ignoring Roland’s warnings, Nick goes to the pedestal, smudging the summoning circle with his feet. The demon is free due to Nick’s stubbornness and proceeds to devour Roland. Once Roland dies, the fourth book self-combusts, stealing Nick from his big prize. And what’s worse, Nick not only lost his money, but he might also lose his life. Nick runs away from the demon, hiding in the dark corridors of the storage facility. However, the only exit door is locked from the outside.
Emilia is on the other side of the door after waiting around the facility the whole day, hoping to soften Nick’s heart, to no avail. So, once Nick asks for help, Emilia decides to repay him the favor, turns her back, and leaves him alone. She doesn’t know there’s a demon on the loose, a fact that could sway her to act otherwise. But as it is, Nick’s lack of compassion prevents him from escaping, and the veteran becomes food for the tentacular demon. It’s a ghastly ending that could have been avoided if Nick was more polite with his fellow human beings.
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