Top 10 Guillermo del Toro Movies Ranked (2025 Update) – From Pan’s Labyrinth to Pinocchio

Guillermo Del Toro is a name that immediately tells you that you’re in for a good time, every time you pick a name, and it has his involvement. Most of his movies are dark horrors like Pan’s Labyrinth, while others are beautiful artworks like The Shape of Water. Despite your taste, whether it’s the gothic charm of the English and Spanish cinema or the romantic side of the on-screen world, Guillermo Del Toro movies are packed with enough to leave you satisfied.

The Essential Guillermo del Toro Movies You Must Watch

Herein lies a curated selection of what I believe to be the most potent and enduring of his directorial efforts. We shall traverse the shadowed corridors of gothic romance, stand in awe of colossal beasts, and find the humanity that so often resides within the heart of the monster.

Now, if you’re ready, let’s begin!

10. Crimson Peak

• Release Year: 2015
• Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam
• Trailer:

Description: Do not mistake this for a mere ghost story. As I have come to understand del Toro’s work, he is not a purveyor of simple scares, but of atmospheric dread and tragic romance. Crimson Peak, a sensuous tale of tragic, is a gothic romance in its purest form. It’s a terrifying tale of a young heiress, Edith Cushing, who is whisked away to a decaying English manor by her enigmatic new husband and his unnervingly devoted sister. 

The house, Allerdale Hall, breathes and bleeds, a character in its own right, holding secrets as crimson as the clay upon which it stands.

The film boasts a respectable IMDb rating of 6.5/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 73%. While some may find its narrative familiar, its visual splendor, making it undoubtedly one of the best Guillermo del Toro films, is undeniable. Every frame is a painting, rich with detail and dripping with a somber beauty.

A fascinating tidbit for you: del Toro himself has stated that the house was designed to be a “character,” with its decaying state mirroring the rot within the family that inhabits it.

9. Blade II

• Release Year: 2002
• Cast: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus
• Trailer:

Description: Before the comic book movie landscape became the behemoth it is today, del Toro lent his unique vision to the world of the Daywalker. In Blade II, you will find a film that transcends its genre trappings. Del Toro injected horror and fight choreography into Marvel’s world in Blade II.

Our stoic hero is forced into an uneasy alliance with the very vampires he has sworn to destroy in order to combat a new, more virulent strain of bloodsucker known as the Reapers.

With an IMDb rating of 6.7/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 57%, it may not be his most critically lauded work, but it is a masterclass in action filmmaking. The fight choreography is a brutal ballet, and the creature design of the Reapers, with their horrifying split jaws, is pure del Toro. Interestingly, del Toro has a long-standing friendship with Ron Perlman, and you will often find him in Guillermo del Toro’s movies; his role as the treacherous vampire Reinhardt is a memorable one.

8. Hellboy

• Release Year: 2004
• Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt
• Trailer:

Description: Here is a del Toro film that wears its heart on its monstrous, red sleeve. Hellboy is a testament to del Toro’s ability to find the profound humanity in the outcasts and the “freaks.” Born from the flames of Hell and raised by a kindly professor, Hellboy is a blue-collar paranormal investigator who would rather be watching television with his cats than saving the world.

Garnering an IMDb rating of 6.8/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 81%, the film was a critical and commercial success, largely due to Ron Perlman’s pitch-perfect portrayal of the titular hero. 

Only del Toro could make that believable—and heartwarming.

A piece of trivia that I find particularly endearing is that del Toro fought hard for Perlman to be cast in the lead role, despite the studio wanting a more bankable star. del Toro knew that only Perlman possessed the gruff charm and underlying vulnerability to bring this unique hero to life.

7. Nightmare Alley

• Release Year: 2021
• Cast: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara
• Trailer:

Description: A departure from the supernatural, yet no less haunting, Nightmare Alley is a meticulously crafted film noir that explores the darkest corners of the human soul. We follow the rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a charismatic but haunted carny who learns the art of the mentalist act and uses it to grift the wealthy elite of 1940s New York.

This visually stunning descent into avarice and self-destruction holds an IMDb rating of 7.0/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%. Del Toro proves he doesn’t need fantasy to terrify. What strikes me most about this film is its stark portrayal of a world without monsters, where the true horrors are perpetrated by men.

Interestingly, del Toro chose to adapt William Lindsay Gresham’s bleak novel directly, rather than remaking the 1947 film adaptation, allowing for a more faithful and uncompromising exploration of the source material’s darkness. Probably that is why it remains one of the top 10 movies from Guillermo del Toro for a while now.

6. Cronos

• Release Year: 1993
• Cast: Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook
• Trailer:

Description: Here is where it all began. Cronos, del Toro’s debut feature, is a poignant and horrifying exploration of the vampiric curse, stripped of its romanticism and presented as a desperate, tragic addiction. An old antique dealer discovers a 400-year-old mechanical scarab that grants him renewed youth, but at a terrible price: an insatiable thirst for blood.

With an impressive IMDb rating of 6.7/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% for a debut film, Cronos announced the arrival of a major cinematic voice. The film’s themes of time, mortality, and the complex relationship between the beautiful and the grotesque would become hallmarks of his work. The movie is a horror with a beating heart.

A fascinating fact for you is that the intricate clockwork mechanism of the Cronos device was a precursor to the intricate, almost biological machinery that would feature in many of his later films. In other words, Cronos wasn’t just a film; it was a beginning for the horror era that came later.

5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army

• Release Year: 2008
• Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Seth MacFarlane
• Trailer:

Description: A sequel that surpasses its predecessor in both spectacle and emotional depth. In The Golden Army, del Toro unleashes a torrent of imaginative creatures and breathtaking world-building. 

Hellboy and his team at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense must contend with an elven prince who seeks to awaken an unstoppable mechanical army and reclaim the world for magical beings.

The film stands tall with an IMDb rating of 7.0/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 86%. What elevates this sequel, in my eyes, is its exploration of the idea that the “monsters” Hellboy fights are not inherently evil, but are themselves facing extinction at the hands of humanity. 

The Troll Market sequence is a particular highlight. It’s a bustling, vibrant ecosystem of the fantastical that only del Toro could conjure.

4. The Devil’s Backbone

• Release Year: 2001
• Cast: Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve
• Trailer:

Description: Before he took us to Pan’s Labyrinth, del Toro crafted this haunting and deeply personal ghost story set during the final days of the Spanish Civil War. A young boy named Carlos arrives at a remote, dilapidated orphanage and soon encounters the ghost of a murdered child. But as you will come to see, the true monsters are often the living, breathing men who walk among us.

A masterpiece of atmosphere and suspense, The Devil’s Backbone boasts a stellar IMDb rating of 7.4/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%. del Toro considers this film to be the spiritual sibling to Pan’s Labyrinth, and it is easy to see why. Both films use the backdrop of a brutal conflict to explore the loss of innocence and the enduring power of stories. A poignant piece of trivia is that the unexploded bomb in the orphanage’s courtyard serves as a constant, looming symbol of the war and the buried secrets of the past.

Sadly, the movie didn’t get the love it deserves in theatres and failed to make much money, making it one of the less profitable movies of del Toro.

3. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

• Release Year: 2022
• Cast: Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz
• Trailer: 

Description: A story you think you know, reimagined with a profound and melancholic beauty that only del Toro could achieve. This stop-motion masterpiece is not a sanitized fairy tale. Set against the backdrop of fascist Italy, it is a story about life, death, grief, and the messy, imperfect, and ultimately beautiful nature of being human.

With a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 97% and a strong IMDb rating of 7.6/10, this film has been rightfully hailed as a triumph. The craftsmanship on display is breathtaking, with every frame a testament to the artistry of stop-motion animation. 

What I find most moving is how the film embraces the darker aspects of Carlo Collodi’s original story, using them to explore complex themes with a maturity and emotional resonance that is rare in any medium.

As soon as the trailer was released, I was hooked. Del Toro’s vision, paired with stop motion animation and a classic fairy yet not so fairy tale made it one of Guillermo del Toro’s movies which had so much of soul.

2. The Shape of Water

• Release Year: 2017
• Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Doug Jones
• Trailer:

Description: A sublime and achingly romantic fairy tale for our times. In a top-secret government laboratory during the Cold War, a mute cleaning woman forms a deep and unlikely bond with a mysterious amphibious creature held captive. It is a love story that transcends words, a celebration of the other, a fairy tale for the voiceless, and a powerful indictment of the fear and prejudice that seek to divide us.

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, The Shape of Water holds an IMDb rating of 7.3/10, shows-off immense love in critics’ reviews, and carries a dazzling Rotten Tomatoes score of 92%. 

The film is a visual and emotional feast, with a stunning central performance from Sally Hawkins. Everything is just so beautiful about this movie, from each frame, to the choice of music, every component comes together and puts it among the most beautiful movies Guillermo del Toro ever made.

A beautiful piece of trivia is that del Toro had the idea for this film for many years, and he wrote the part of the Amphibian Man specifically for his long-time collaborator, Doug Jones, who has brought so many of his fantastical creatures to life.

1. Pan’s Labyrinth

• Release Year: 2006
• Cast: Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones
• Trailer:

Description: And so we arrive at what I consider to be the pinnacle of Guillermo del Toro’s filmmaking, a dark and devastatingly beautiful fable that intertwines the brutal reality of Francoist Spain with a haunting, allegorical fantasy world. 

Young Ofelia escapes the horrors of her new life with her cruel stepfather, a sadistic army captain, by venturing into a mythical labyrinth where she encounters a mysterious faun.

A cinematic achievement of the highest order, Pan’s Labyrinth is adored by critics and audiences alike, boasting an IMDb rating of 8.2/10 and a stunning Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%. 

It is a film that will break your heart and ignite your imagination in equal measure. The creature designs, particularly the terrifying Pale Man, are iconic, but it is the film’s profound exploration of choice, obedience, and the enduring power of fairy tales in the face of unimaginable darkness that secures its place as a timeless masterpiece.

Which Guillermo del Toro Movies Should You Start With?

Well, if you’re new to his world, you’re lucky. Start with Pan’s Labyrinth and you will know why the world loves him. 

To journey through the films of Guillermo del Toro is to be reminded of the power of cinema to transport, to challenge, and to move us. His is a voice that speaks for the monstrous, the misunderstood, and the magical. 

While these were some of the best Guillermo del Toro movies I’ve loved, you should not stop even once this list is over. Go for more titles like Pacific Rim and Mimi. Also explore his TV shows. Some of the brilliant stories are there waiting for you to join them. For example, The Strain, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, etc. He also has some games he directed. P.T. and Pacific Rim.

And there’s a new movie coming in 2025 as well called ‘Frankenstein’. This retelling of the story already looks promising. The trailer was brilliant, you should give it a shot. Probably will become one of the top new releases you’re going to get excited for.

Finally, I trust this guide has been a worthy companion on your own exploration of his remarkable body of work. Now, go forth and watch, and allow yourself to be swept away and don’t forget to Subscribe to my newsletter. It will keep you in loop with everything I post. 

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