There are only a handful of directors working in popular cinema who have a visually distinct feel. One is the acclaimed Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. The modern king of the monster movie, del Toro is probably best known for his creatures. By Pan’s labyrinth Unpleasant The shape of waterhis unique creature designs have always been the most notable aspect of his filmography.
In addition, his scripts often question and deconstruct commonly held assumptions about monstrosity. Where audiences would typically be averse to bugs, ghouls, and hairy beasts, Del Toro delights in making them reflect on the nature of these associations, and by extension, the place of monstrosity in our cultural imagination.
However, that’s not to say that all of his films have been flawless. Many of his films have drawn anger and discontent from audiences of all kinds, and many have suffered from restrictive production guidelines. Here are all the Guillermo del Toro movies, in order.
13 Mimic
Genetically engineered bugs gain the ability to transform their shells to mimic humans. Mimic is exactly as terrifying as you’d expect with such a macabre premise. Despite being nearly 24 years old, Guillermo del Toro’s signature ability to weave beauty and monstrosity through cinematography, set design and costumes is on full display.
Unfortunately, the film went through many iterations of rewrites commissioned by studio executives, diluting the director’s initial vision. Today it doesn’t quite stand up to the flair that would characterize his later work.
12 Knife II
Knife II posed a unique challenge: create a stylish, campy vampire action movie, building on the character foundation laid by Wesley Snipes’ infamous portrayal of the titular character. While del Toro de Sheet franchise with its eye for creative visuals and getting a little more personality out of the protagonist, the plot remains a mostly nonsensical, repetitive slog. That said, fans of the iconic Marvel character are bound to find a fun action story with a well-realized aesthetic.
11 Hellboy
At this point in Del Toro’s career, his films began to hone stylistic action elements with the confidence of a director who realizes his talents. Ron Perlman’s view of Hellboy achieved well-deserved legend status; his dry humor and class-conscious sensibility brought the spawn of Satan to brilliant life. There are some slower moments here Hellboy slows down and surrenders to maintaining his relationships, making for an action movie with more heart than expected.
10 Kronos
Kronos succeeds in a place where other vampire stories fail. Exploring the nature of what it means to be more than human, and asking viewers to consider the spiritual price of violence, this film is a tried and true standout in the genre.
There’s a unique mythology behind the story’s presentation of vampires that continues to intrigue after the credits roll. And despite being a horror movie, the dramatic elements and horror elements strike a confident balance in tandem with a script that indulges in philosophy as much as it does gore. Kronos is a must watch for fans of vampire movies.
9 Pacific edge
Critics and audiences alike found a lot to love Pacific edge. The characterization leaves much to be desired, but several elements of the script fall secondary to an irresistible sense of fun presented by the visuals and action sequences. Inspired by the Japanese canon of giant kaiju and mechas from a rich history in both live-action and animation, this is a movie that rises above the sum of its seemingly disparate parts. The result is a driven, bombastic thrill ride that is sure to entertain.
8 Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Bigger and more beautiful than the previous movie, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is another triumph for the director, presenting yet another of his trademark uncompromising visions for a strange and captivating world. The Hollywood Reporter noted that del Toro was given free rein to let his imagination run wild, and that it makes the film a lot more engaging as a result. Ron Perlman refines his performance, and del Toro seamlessly blends CGI and hands-on effects for a visual set that surpasses the first film.
7 Cabinet of curiosities
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Prior to Del Toro’s partnership with Netflix for his take on Pinocchiothe author curiously dipped his toe into the world of the Netflix series for the eight part Cabinet of curiosities. The Mexican’s fascination and track record with fantasy horror is on display for all to see, and Cabinet of curiosities draws on elements from his previous works and combines them with new, nightmarish ideas in eight individual stories.
With a lot of meticulousness, creatively unique visuals, beautiful lighting composition and some exceptional performances, the Netflix Original Series leans heavily on production value, but a thoroughly well-crafted show nonetheless.
6 Nightmare Alley
from DelToro Nightmare Alley is a film noir loosely based on the 1947 novel and 1940s movie of the same name. The story revolves around Stanton Carlile, a grieving carny who joins forces with a mysterious psychiatrist to con the rich and bring wealth to his traveling carnival.
The atmosphere is dark and heavy, complete with a well-realized noir aesthetic balanced with a romantic sensibility from the director. The slow pace and opaque subtext of the plot won’t work for everyone, but this is another work in del Toro’s filmography that reaches new heights thanks to the expression of his wonderful and exciting world.
5 Crimson peak
The trailers in front Crimson peak promised a grim, claustrophobic story set in a haunted house. What the film delivered, against audience expectations, was more of a doomed romance set against a paranoia-filled, gothic horror backdrop. The gap in expectations made for a somewhat confusing reception, but the film offers a tightly acted, mournful atmosphere with a lot of scares. It manages to subvert genre expectations while maintaining the cohesive visual flair so closely associated with Guillermo del Toro.
4 Pan’s labyrinth
Pan’s labyrinth confidently engages in a wide variety of political, philosophical and supernatural topics, while flawlessly balancing all three elements. The combination of these elements blossoms into a brilliant tale of magic and brutality from the mind of a director processing the collective trauma imposed by the Spanish Civil War.
Borrowing popular iconography from Christianity and the director’s own internal depravity, the creatures in this story are absolutely unforgettable. Still, the source of evil in this world is more mysterious, leaving it to the mind of the viewer to decide whether true monstrosity is supernatural or a product of our own minds.
3 The shape of water
Yes, The shape of water is that movie that teased the fish-man hybrid with sex. Yes, it won the Best Picture Oscar in 2018. Both are true. And, perhaps unbelievably, this film managed to make something profound out of the unholy union between a fish man and a human woman. This is Del Toro’s greatest party trick – to ask us with a wide grin to untangle the associations we have between monstrosity and evil.
This is a movie that shows us how truly bizarre our capacity for empathy and great cruelty is. With a timeless aesthetic, beautiful set design and a haunting, melodic score, The shape of water is strange for its ridiculous ideas, and strange for how much you come to love it.
2 Pinocchio
2021 is heavily underestimated Nightmare Alley marked the end of del Toro’s four-year hiatus from filmmaking, thankfully it was only a year away until his next feature film in the form of his stop-motion animation adaptation of the children’s literary classic, Pinocchio. The Netflix-backed production is a joyous display of handicraft and copious amounts of meticulous detail.
Del Toro tells the story of the wooden boy in his own unique way against the backdrop of Mussolini’s Italy, a departure from Carlo Collodi’s 19th-century setting. After Geppetto’s son is killed in an air raid in WWI, he longs for his son, with his wishes coming true in the form of Pinocchio. More than just a children’s film, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio confronts issues of fascism, the human condition, and lack of control.
1 The backbone of the devil
Similar themes flow through most of Guillermo del Toro’s work, but in The backbone of the devil, the characters, the supernatural elements and the politics shown combine to form a story with many levels of commentary. It’s a story of lost childhood innocence and it’s a story of the horrors of war that leave deep, real scars on survivors.
As one of del Toro’s earlier works, there’s no huge production budget or his usual arrangement of grandiose visuals. Instead, this is a stripped down, somewhat simpler story that relies on great actors and a script with a lot of heart. Among his canon of films, this is the one that best realizes his vision: for juxtaposing the grotesque aspects of the world with the grotesque aspects of human nature, to help us realize the capacity for great good and evil in all of us. to acknowledge.