The Supernatural Cinema of Guillermo Del Toro : Critical Essays

Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro is one of the most prolific artists working in film. His directorial work includes Cronos (1993), Mimic (1997), The Devil's Backbone (2001), Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Hellboy II (2008) and Pacific Rim (2013). He has also worked extensively as a producer, with several screenwriting credits to his name. As a novelist he coauthored The Strain Trilogy (2009-2011), which he also developed into a television series for FX in 2014. Del Toro has spoken of the "primal, spiritual function" of his art, which gives expression to his fascination with monsters, myth, archetype, metaphor, Jungian psychology, the paranormal and religion. This collection of new essays discusses cultural, religious and literary influences on del Toro's work and explores key themes of his films, including the child's experience of humanity through encounters with the monstrous. This Collection Of New Essays Discusses Cultural, Religious And Literary Influences On Del Toro's Work And Explores Key Themes Of His Films, Including The Child's Experience Of Humanity Through Encounters With The Monstrous-- The Magical Spirituality Of A Lapsed Catholic: Atheism And Anticlericalism / S. T. Joshi -- At The Mountains Of Mexico: The Echoes And Intertexts Of Lovecraft And Dunsany / Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr -- Slime And Subtlety: Monsters In Del Toro's Spanish-language Films / Ann Davies -- Time Out Of Joint: Traumatic Hauntings In The Spanish Civil War Films / Karin Brown -- The Child Transformed By Monsters: The Monstrous Beauty Of Childhood Trauma / Jessica Balanzategui -- The Ambivalence Of Creative Desire: Theogonic Myth And Monstrous Offspring / Sidney L. Sondergard -- Henry's Kids: Othered Children And Karloff's Frankenstein Monster / John Kenneth Muir -- Where The Wild Things Are: Monsters And Children / Alexandra West -- Bloodsucking Bugs: Horacio Quiroga And The Latin American Transformation Of Vampires / Gabriel Eljaiek-rodriguez -- The Birth Of Fantasy: A Nietzschaen Reading Of Pan's Labyrinth / Jack Collins -- Menstruation As Heroine's Journey In Pan's Labyrinth / Richard Lindsay.. Edited By John W. Morehead ; Foreword By Doug Jones. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Table of Contents 6 Foreword (Doug Jones) 8 Introduction (John W. Morehead) 14 The Magical Spirituality of a Lapsed Catholic: Atheism and Anticlericalism (S. T. Joshi) 18 At the Mountains of Mexico: The Echoes and Intertexts of Lovecraft and Dunsany (Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.) 29 Slime and Subtlety: Monsters in del Toro’s Spanish- Language Films (Ann Davies) 48 Time Out of Joint: Traumatic Hauntings in the Spanish Civil War Films (Karin Brown) 65 The Child Transformed by Monsters: The Monstrous Beauty of Childhood Trauma (Jessica Balanzategui) 83 The Ambivalence of Creative Desire: Theogonic Myth and Monstrous Offspring (Sidney L. Sondergard) 100 Henry’s Kids: Othered Children and Karloff ’s Frankenstein Monster (John Kenneth Muir) 119 Where the Wild Things Are: Monsters and Children (Alexandra West) 137 Bloodsucking Bugs: Horacio Quiroga and the Latin American Transformation of Vampires (Gabriel Eljaiek-Rodríguez) 153 The Birth of Fantasy: A Nietzschaen Reading of Pan’s Labyrinth (Jack Collins) 170 Menstruation as Heroine’s Journey in Pan’s Labyrinth (Richard Lindsay) 189 About the Contributors 208 Index 212 Guillermo del Toro is one of the most prolific artists working in film. His directorial work includes Cronos (1993), Hellboy (2004), and Pan's Labyrinth (2006). He has also worked extensively as a producer and screenwriter. This collection of essays discusses cultural, religious and literary influences on del Toro's work and explores key themes of his films.