A critical exploration of one of the most exciting, original and influential figures to emerge in contemporary film, Guillermo del Toro: Film as Alchemic Art is a major contribution to the analysis of Guillermo del Toro’s cinematic output. It offers an in-depth discussion of del Toro’s oeuvre and investigates key ideas, recurrent motifs and subtle links between his movies. The book explores the sources that del Toro draws upon and transforms in the creation of his rich and complex body of work. These include the literary, artistic and cinematic influences on films such as Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone, Cronos and Mimic, and the director’s engagement with comic book culture in his two Hellboy films, Blade II and Pacific Rim. As well as offering extensive close textual analysis, the authors also consider del Toro’s considerable impact on wider popular culture, including a discussion of his role as producer, ambassador for ‘geek’ culture and figurehead in new international cinema.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1: Contexts and Audiences
Chapter 1. Influences and Intertexts
Chapter 2. Accented Fantasy and the Gothic Perverse
Chapter 3. Fan as Filmmaker

Part 2: Texts and Thematics
Chapter 4. Twisted Genres: Cronos and Mimic
Chapter 5. Trauma – Childhood –History: The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth
Chapter 6. Gothic Superheroes: Blade II, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Chapter 7. From Development Hell to the Pacific Depths: The Strain and Pacific Rim

Bibliography
Filmography and Comicography
Index