Jude White
A2 Media
9315
Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo Del Toro is a horror director renowned for his dark fantasy/gothic horror and his lack of reliance on false jump-scares to make effective and chilling horror films. The latter is what makes him one of my personal favourite horror directors, as I find jumpscares incredibly tired and cheap as a scare tactic, much preferring directors who can create a deep and psychological unease which, in my opinion, is a much harder feat.
Del Toro's films often focus on gothic plotlines or elements, but some of his works are ghost stories more grounded in reality. Del Toro is fascinated with creating unusual and disturbing monsters, and often uses practical effects over CGI. Perhaps the biggest cinematic departure for Del Toro from his usual style was the action blockbuster 'Pacific Rim,' which served to show his diversity and overall skill as a director not just of horror but of films in general. Two very different films from Del Toro's extensive horror repertoire are 'El Orfanato' (The Orphanage) and 'Pan's Labyrinth'.
El Orfanato, which Del Toro helped produce, focuses on the story of a mother losing her son, all the while being haunted by the ghost of a small boy in a bizarre mask called Tomas. Tomas' mask is a way in which Del Toro manages to slip some of his characteristic twisted, disturbing imagery into a more grounded horror tale, but overall the mise-en-scene is more realistic. The colours are quite washed out in comparison to his other films, and the costumes and setting are realistic, despite the house the characters live in being quite gothic; another way Del Toro has adapted his more well-known style. El Orfanato focuses on creating chilling moments of tension as opposed to jump-scares, an excellent example being when the mother sees Tomas for the first time, slowly and menacingly moving towards her down a hallway.
Conversely, 'Pan's Labyrinth,' parhaps Del Toro's most well-known horror work after 'Hellboy' is a dark fantasy and a play on the story of Alice in Wonderland. The film therefore makes plentiful use of gothic imagery as well as Del Toro's characteristically disturbing monster design. In this scene from 'Pan's Labyrinth,' Del Toro introduces one of his most iconic monsters, the Pale Man, and manages to create a terrifying scene without using any jumpscares at all.
Del Toro's upcoming gothic romance/horror Crimson Peak is another great example of his style; terrifying ghost designs, gothic settings, lots of bright colours etc. You can find my analysis of the Crimson Peak trailer here.