Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL previews creepy escapades for anyone in search of a fright.

IT’S the time of year when the streaming platforms fill up with everything designed to raise hairs for Halloween.

Netflix’s new series “Cabinet of Curiosities” represents one of this year’s most intriguing and creepy escapades and is well worth checking out for anyone in search of a fright. 

Created by horror pundit Guillermo del Toro, this anthology features eight episodes that each tell their own spooky, yet smart horror story.

The Mexican director has brought a new air of sophistication to a genre normally reserved for cheap jump-scares and gimmicky concepts.

Take his spellbinding 2006 film “Pan’s Labyrinth”, a gem that’s even caught the eyes of those who otherwise turn their nose up at horror and fantasy.

It’s a nightmarish fairy tale of a 10-year-old girl named Ofelia who, amidst the chaos of fascist-ruled Spain in 1944, is made to live with her sadistic stepfather, a captain of the Francoist dictatorship assigned to hunt down those who oppose it.

Confronted by the horrors of war, Ofelia attempts to escape into her own fantasy world, but the line between monsters both human and otherworldly becomes blurred as this cerebral fable unfurls. Best of all it can be viewed for free on ABC iView.

Del Toro also made headlines in 2017 for his controversial best-picture winner “The Shape of Water”, the bizarre tale of a woman’s relationship with a fish man held in captivity.

Its Oscar win was a surprise given the Academy’s tendency to ignore such genre-heavy stuff. In fact, the only “horror” film to have ever won best picture is 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” (on Amazon Prime).

Del Toro also scored a nomination for best picture last year with his film “Nightmare Alley”. Both that and “The Shape of Water” can be streamed on Disney Plus.

All this points to the fact that the director has more than proven himself a master of making things that go bump in the night. However, in his Netflix show he’s decided to share the top job with others. 

Only two of the episodes will be del Toro’s own original work. For the other six, he’s assembled six different horror directors from around the world who have each crafted their own unique story.

While details of these stories have deliberately been left a mystery in the lead up to its release, the talent on hand to bring them to life is undeniable.

That includes Australia’s own Jennifer Kent, who spooked audiences both here and overseas with her 2014 film “The Babadook”.

It’s the terrifying tale of a single mother whose erratically behaved son becomes convinced there’s a monster living in their small suburban home.

Set entirely in Adelaide, this psychological thriller stands out by cleverly revealing that the monster is far from the scariest thing about it.

It can be streamed on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

A star-studded line up of actors has also been recruited to make “Cabinet of Curiosities” a reality.

Rupert Grint, of Harry Potter fame, will star in one episode as will Andrew Lincoln, former lead of the long-running zombie phenomenon “The Walking Dead”.

It’s been a few years since Lincoln departed from “The Walking Dead”, which coincidentally is now also streaming its final season on Binge.

It’s hard to blame him for leaving the show even as its popular main character.

While after 11 years and 11 seasons “The Walking Dead” itself is finally wrapping up, there’s no telling when the franchise will call it quits.

The TV network that owns the show has already got multiple spin-offs planned that will start immediately after the original series supposedly “finishes”. Talk about a walking corpse, indeed.

Netflix’s collection of talent such as Lincoln comes at a time when the platform most needs it.

Its competitors are ever encroaching with their own popular content. Now more than ever, the streaming giant needs original, quality productions if it wants to hold on to its floundering reputation.

While “Cabinet of Curiosities” might have curated some of the world’s best horror storytellers, it’s still not as likely to scare off as many viewers as Netflix’s recent announcement that there’ll soon be ads creeping around the platform.