These 5 movies prove Guillermo del Toro is king of the monsters

Guillermo del Toro is one of the most celebrated filmmakers in modern Hollywood, who has built up an incredible reputation for making the uncanny beloved. The director has tackled a wide range of genres through his unique lens, championing the practical work of artists while calling out unfair practices. Del Toro is beloved within the industry and by audiences across the world.

Across his filmography, monsters have often been the center of del Toro’s focus. Sometimes they are terrifying forces who threaten the world; in others, they are simply trying to live their lives. Here are five examples that show why del Toro is the master of cinematic monsters:

Hellboy

Streaming on Netflix

In 2004, del Toro dealt with a devil as he brought the world of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy to the screen. Brought to Earth as a baby in the waning days of World War II, Ron Perlman’s titular comic book hero protects humanity from supernatural threats as part of the BRPD, from loose beasts to undead apocalypse-worshipping Nazi occultists. Between visual effects that hold up to this day and strong action sequences, del Toro’s Hellboy makes the audience root for the monster.

Furthermore, in Hellboy, del Toro characterized a literal demon who is a fallible but good-hearted hero, despite his appearance being traditionally associated with villainy. Hellboy was brought to Earth to literally bring the apocalypse, yet the love of his adoptive father, Dr. Broom (John Hurt), and his companions during his upbringing allows him to avert his destiny. As such, del Toro states that humanity is a choice and evil isn’t inherent, meaning that even those with darker roots can do good.

Pan’s Labyrinth

Available to rent or purchase through Prime Video

In comparison, Pan’s Labyrinth is a far more fantastical but tonally darker affair. As Ivana Baquero’s young Ofelia is tasked with completing three feats when she stumbles into a magical labyrinth, she is also witness to growing atrocities committed during conflicts throughout the Francoist regime’s reign in 1944 Spain. While Ofelia dives deeper into the magical realm, she too becomes more involved in the war until the movie brings both threads together in its climax.

Written as a parable, what happens in the magical realm of Pan’s Labyrinth coincides with the heightening tensions in Spain, as Ofelia’s stepfather, Vidal (Sergi Lopez), commits more brutal actions to maintain control. The insatiable greed of the Pale Man, who never needs to eat yet consumes thieves, is introduced just as Vidal tightens restrictions on rationing in the area to punish insurgents, much to the suffering of the civilians. Hellboy asked us to humanize monsters. In Pan’s Labyrinth, del Toro uses the creatures to represent and visualize what humanity is capable of, for better or worse.

Pacific Rim

Available to rent or purchase through Prime Video

Of course, sometimes monsters can best serve as representing an external force that humanity must directly take on, which del Toro explored in 2013’s Pacific Rim. When gigantic interdimensional monsters, Kaiju, begin rampaging across the world, humanity is defended by the Jaegers, colossal mechs driven by two telepathically linked pilots. When Charlie Hunnam’s washed-up pilot Raleigh Becket is paired with Rinko Kikuchi’s Mako Mori, the pair must work through their traumas to open up and save the world.

Much like how Godzilla and its many retellings were developed as a response to Japan’s trauma over the threat of disasters and nuclear weaponry, del Toro’s Kaiju also represent an existential threat to humanity. The Jaegers require pilots to fully embrace and trust one another to save the world, with the Kaiju being a force that can only be beaten through “togetherness.” Pacific Rim embraces the rich symbolic potential that the kaiju movie subgenre has to offer in representing how even the greatest, most existential, and overwhelming threats to humanity can be overcome.​​​​​​​

Release Date

July 12, 2013

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  Charlie Hunnam

  Raleigh Becket

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  Idris Elba

  Stacker Pentecost

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The Shape of Water

Streaming on HBO Max

The Shape of Water asked audiences to embrace the unusual, as del Toro brought a unique romance to screens. At the height of the Cold War in 1962, Sally Hawkins’s mute cleaner Elisa falls for “The Amphibian Man,” (Doug Jones) a creature kept within a government facility, and aids in his escape. All the while, Michael Shannon’s Colonel Strickland seeks to vivisect the monster in hopes that its suffering could bring an end to the Space Race and assert his way of life as dominant.

The Shape of Water, which won Best Picture at the Oscars, is set in a highly conservative era of American history, where non-white, disabled, and queer individuals are predominantly othered and seen either as solely assets to be used or something to be feared. The Amphibian Man represents a blatant externalization of this issue, but even Elisa and her friend are victims of this mindset as well. However, del Toro uses the movie to look beyond what divides us, use solidarity to uplift one another, and find the beauty in what makes us unique, making the Other something to be embraced rather than shunned.

Release Date

December 1, 2017

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  Michael Shannon

  Richard Strickland

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  Sally Hawkins

  Elisa Esposito

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  Octavia Spencer

  Zelda Fuller

Frankenstein

Streaming on Netflix

In 2025, del Toro looked back to the progenitor of modern science fiction and monster stories with Frankenstein, a retelling of Mary Shelley’s genre-defining novel. Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein’s traumatic upbringing pushes him to find a cure for death itself, leading him to stitch together corpses to create a new, undying creature played by Jacob Elordi. When Victor attempts to dispose of the monster, the creature is forced to reckon with its place in the world and how it wishes to live.

While Frankenstein largely stays faithful to the novel’s themes of the cost of playing God, del Toro interweaves a tale of generational trauma into the narrative. Victor’s goal is shaped by his father’s abuse and a desire to surpass him, but ultimately he inflicts abuse upon the creature, aka his child. The creature could almost indulge in the same rage, but the kindness of others shows him he can be better, leading to a reconciliation that symbolizes how we can be our own worst monsters but can also choose to be our own saviors.

With these examples, it is clear that del Toro recognizes the versatility that a monster can hold. It can be a mirror to humanity and its actions, a threat or force that we must overcome, or represent something that we must embrace. As such, del Toro’s filmography is not only a library of visual marvels but also asks audiences to look beyond the strange and find something deeper.

Release Date

October 17, 2025

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  Oscar Isaac

  Dr. Victor Frankenstein

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  Mia Goth

  Elizabeth Lavenza

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  Christoph Waltz

  Dr. Pretorius

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