Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is one of the most imaginative and visionary filmmakers
of our time.
Throughout his acclaimed career, del Toro's obsession with movie monsters has captured
the hearts and minds of both critics and audiences worldwide.
Each of del Toro's films are instantly recognizable, as few directors can match the intricacy of
his distinctive vision.
After twenty five years of moviemaking without an Academy Award, 2018's The Shape of Water
won del Toro the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director.
However, long before he dove into the depths of inter-species love, del Toro tackled a
whole range of creature creations transcending typical notions of horror and fantasy.
Join us as we rank the maestro Guillermo del Toro's ten movies from worst to best.
"When you made Shape of Water did people say, "'why didn't you make it in spanish?
Why did you make it in English?'"
"It was weird enough in any language."
Mimic
Anyone who's squeamish at the sight of bugs would do best to avoid del Toro's first English-language
movie, 1997's Mimic, in which entomologist Susan Tyler is on a quest to rid New York
City of deadly, disease-spreading cockroaches.
Fighting fire with fire, Tyler genetically engineers new insects called the Judas Breed
to feed on the infected bugs.
Unexpectedly, or perhaps expectedly if you've ever seen a horror movie, the new creatures
evolve in dangerous ways and take on a purpose of their own.
While Mimic features del Toro's renowned detailed character designs, his first Hollywood venture
was ultimately a bitter experience.
Creatively, he felt stifled by studio interference and has since disowned Mimic entirely.
Crimson Peak
What do you get when you cross a haunted house movie and a gothic love story?
For his ninth film, del Toro blurred the usual boundaries of genre with 2015's Crimson Peak.
This flick follows the dark love affair between American heiress Edith Cushing and English
baronet Thomas Sharpe.
Swept away to Sharpe's creepy yet magnificent house, called Crimson Peak, the couple encounters
imaginative red ghosts and the potential threat Thomas' sister Lucille brings.
Marketed as an outright horror movie, reception to Crimson Peak was mixed, scoring a 71 percent
on Rotten Tomatoes thanks largely to its stunning set design and unnerving visuals.
Without the scares of Pan's Labyrinth, nor the romanticism in The Shape of Water, this
gothic tale still sports del Toro's typical style and sophistication.
Pacific Rim
del Toro's biggest money-making blockbuster, Pacific Rim, combines his love of Japanese
mecha and menacing movie monsters.
The story is a battle between destructive creatures called Kaiju and the Earth's final
savior, gigantic robots called Jaegers piloted by humans.
Close to defeat, mankind's last resort is to enlist the help of a washed-up ex-pilot
and a young trainee to stop the planet's impending doom.
Flush with heart-pounding action sequences, Pacific Rim is not another mindless summer
smash up.
Besides being a technical marvel, the characters themselves are rich in diversity and depth.
In del Toro's hands, these giant sea creatures and massive robots are packed with more personality
than your standard monster flick.
"I didn't want them to look like a certain mecha or look like a certain piece of anime
or a another movie, I wanted them to be all their own."
Cronos
Del Toro's first feature, 1994's Cronos, delivered one of his most outlandish concepts for a
vampire film: An elderly antique dealer discovers an ancient artifact meant to grant eternal
life.
With his eight-year-old granddaughter, he tries to use the item's power for himself,
but of course, things don't go as expected.
Originally written for veteran actor Max Von Sydow, the lead role is unusual as older men
rarely take center stage in film.
While sometimes struggling to maintain a balance between horror and comedy, Cronos still showed
the del Toro horror magic he would capitalize on later in his career.
Hellboy
Well before superhero movies dominated theatres, in 2004 Guillermo del Toro struggled to bring
his passion project, the comic book character Hellboy, to cinema.
Played by longtime friend Ron Perlman, Hellboy is a surly, wise-cracking demon groomed to
be part of an elite paranormal secret defense team.
Based on writer and illustrator Mike Mignola's acclaimed comic book series, Hellboy was a
breath of fresh air in a world of vanilla superheroes.
Del Toro fought to retain the spirit of the source material, despite studio interference.
Hellboy's humor and uniqueness prevailed, and del Toro would expand Hellboy's universe
in the film's sequel.
Blade II
Four years after actor Wesley Snipes brought vampire hunter Blade to the big screen, the
supernatural Marvel hero returned for a 2002 sequel with del Toro in the director's chair.
In Blade 2, Blade is pitted against a new threat of mutated, savage vampires known as
the Reapers.
To defeat them, he agrees to an unexpected truce, and reunites with his former mentor.
A second round of Blade success was tricky as del Toro had no involvement with the franchise
previously.
Fortunately, he used his experience on Cronos to expand the vampire mythology even further
diving headfirst into Blade's hedonistic underworld.
Like Pacific Rim, Blade II lacks the finesse of Del Toro's smaller movies, but his underrated
eye for action works exceptionally well here.
"I wanted the violence to be balletic, to be almost like a musical number, so it would
not have the yuck factor."
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The only sequel to one of his own films he actually returned to direct, in 2008 del Toro
returned for Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
In the sequel, our hero is caught in a power struggle between humanity and the invisible
realm as Prince Nuada breaks an ancient truce to wage war on our world.
With the help of his friends, Hellboy steps up to save Earth, but with conflict more complicated
than it first appears.
The Golden Army is clearly the film that del Toro wanted to make all along.
With the most lovable assortment of oddballs to hit the screen since the X-Men made their
debut, the movie dazzles in both innovative action sequences and the character's hilarious
moments of down time.
Lost in the shuffle of a summer movie season headlined by both Iron Man and The Dark Knight,
Hellboy II retained the same devoted appeal of the original Hellboy, and remains one of
the shining beacons of the comic superhero genre.
"I just can't smile without yooouuuu."
The Devil's Backbone
del Toro's definitive ghost story, 2001's The Devil's Backbone, is set during the last
days of the Spanish Civil War and follows Carlos, a ten year old boy sheltered in a
school for orphans.
Confronted by the hostility of fellow orphan Jaime, Carlos struggles to come to terms with
his situation until he uncovers the secret of a ghost called Santi, who haunts the grounds.
What comes next is obviously unpleasant.
The Devil's Backbone is one of del Toro's most personal films and excels by balancing
the haunting scares with each character's emotional
honesty.
Both a creepy ghost story and powerful allegory for the politics of the time, The Devil's
Backbone is easily one of del Toro's best movies to date and arguably forms the backbone
for everything he created after.
The Shape of Water
Set in America circa 1962, del Toro's best English-language film, The Shape of Water,
stars Sally Hawkins as Elisa, a lonely mute woman who spends her days eating eggs and
cleaning a government installation.
However, her life is changed forever when she and her co-worker Zelda discover a humanoid
amphibian creature being abused by government operatives.
Playing the leading fish-man is del Toro's frequently called-on character actor and contortionist
Doug Jones.
Before the creature is killed, and with the help of her best friend, Elisa plans to release
the creature out of captivity, but falls deeply in love with him along the way.
The Shape of Water successfully blends del Toro's fantasy leanings and his romantic streak
in one cohesive, timeless story thanks to his impressive production design and glorious
performances from the cast.
Everything from its use of color to the unique way it tackles communication helps The Shape
of Water transcend its bizarre subject matter into an Oscar-winning opus.
With its powerful underdog message, the film is a true masterpiece and will continue to
be discussed by critics and audiences alike for years to come.
"You know what I do, I don't know what I do.
I've been doing this for 25 years.
So whatever fruit I give, you can say it's a pear or a pineapple.
Whatever it is, that's what I do."
Pan's Labyrinth
Just like The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth revisits the ramifications of the Spanish
Civil War.
But here, both the horror and fantasy elements are heightened further as the story follows
Ofelia's venture into a legendary underground kingdom.
Meanwhile, her stepfather plots to destroy a nearby guerrilla uprising.
Scoring an impressive 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Pan's Labyrinth is del Toro's
highest-rated movie and an undisputed triumph of filmmaking.
Despite being filmed in Spanish, the movie became a surprise hit worldwide, the film
won three Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup.
Pan's Labyrinth became del Toro's calling card and captured the themes of innocence
and fantasy threaded throughout his entire filmography.
The film is both stunning and unnerving in equal measure, and it's hard to imagine del
Toro ever creating another movie so wondrous.
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