Here are all Guillermo del Toro movies ranked, including his most recent film, Pinocchio. From 1993’s Cronos, we rank them all from worst to best.
All Guillermo del Toro Movies Ranked
When he went up to accept his various The Shape of Water Oscars, it didn’t just feel like a win for Guillermo del Toro, it felt like a victory for all of us.
More than any other filmmaker out there, Guillermo del Toro is a fan first, with an unrelenting devotion to genre cinema and an irrepressible, unpretentious approach that makes him utterly unique.
They may not all be perfect, yet Guillermo del Toro’s movies are never less than enthralling, consistently championing criminally belittled genres, as the director regularly puts in the hard graft to bring them to prominence.
Flirting with the mainstream but with a decidedly alternative sensibility, del Toro has played both sides beautifully through the years, and nowhere is this more evident than with his latest effort – a WWII-set, Netflix-funded stop-motion Pinocchio.
So, with the arrival of his newest film (briefly) in cinemas and on the streaming giant (very soon), this feels like the perfect opportunity to look back at the director’s weird and wonderful career and rank every one of his films to date.
12. Mimic (1997)
There’s nothing overtly terrible about Guillermo del Toro’s first brush with Hollywood, it’s just not of the standard we’ve come to expect.
Despite haunting visuals and a satisfying grossness, the rest of Mimic’ big bug horror is very by-the-numbers – and when you consider just how un-by-the-numbers the rest of del Toro’s career has been, it’s just a little disappointing.
11. Pacific Rim (2013)
By far his most blockbustery effort, Pacific Rim feels like the moment Guillermo del Toro was handed the keys to Hollywood, and while it’s awesome to see him finally make it, the film is not without its issues.
With a huge budget and some creative freedom, del Toro has a blast indulging his passion for giant robot/giant monster punch-ups, however, all this spectacle comes at the expense of character and story, putting Pacific Rim below its director’s usual lofty standards.
10. Hellboy (2004)
A complete unknown when it arrived, Hellboy was the perfect monster-centric underdog tale for del Toro to further establish himself in the mainstream, all while retaining his distinctive charm.
A standard superhero origin at heart, Hellboy is nevertheless indelibly marked with del Toro’s style, and while the film’s box office success was modest, it was enough to buy the director creative leeway going forward.
Guillermo del Toro movies ranked continued…
9. Nightmare Alley (2021)
With an air of the fantastical and a heightened gothic sensibility, Nightmare Alley has all the hallmarks of a Guillermo del Toro classic, yet comes up just short of greatness.
Visually, the film is on a par with the very best del Toro efforts, yet it can’t deliver a compelling enough story to back itself up, and despite a strong Bradley Cooper performance and a stacked ensemble, Nightmare Alley is merely a solid entry in the director’s filmography.
8. Blade II (2002)
Clearly keen to show the world he could deliver a hit after Mimic’s failure, Guillermo del Toro’s decision to take on a Wesley Snipes vampire vehicle may have felt bizarre at the time, yet, in hindsight, Blade II was the perfect Hollywood comeback.
A self-confessed comic book nerd, del Toro embraced the inherent horror silliness of the vampire-hunting hero to deliver a fun, action-packed ride that injects his distinct sensibilities into the most mainstream of films.
7. Crimson Peak (2015)
As a sumptuous slab of gothic horror, Crimson Peak feels made for Guillermo del Toro. Picking up ghost story elements from previous films and dialling it all up to eleven, del Toro produces his most lavish effort to date.
The story itself of a wealthy young woman marrying a charming young man and moving to a creepy house in Edwardian England is solid enough, yet it’s the film’s opulent production and extravagant visuals that really sets Crimson Peak apart.
Guillermo del Toro movies ranked continued…
6. Cronos (1993)
All things considered; Cronos is quite the debut. With a sympathetic monster at its heart and the desire to reinvent a genre in his own image, the film has all the characteristics that would soon become central to the del Toro style.
Announcing himself as a world-builder extraordinaire, del Toro lovingly crafts a unique vampiric tale full of what would soon become his patented brand of fear, horror, and heart.
5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Although Hellboy was hardly a huge hit, del Toro’s subsequent success with Pan’s Labyrinth was enough to convince the powers that be to give him a sequel. And thank god they did, because The Golden Army improves on the first film in almost every way.
With the origin story out the way, Hellboy II sees del Toro let his hair down and his freak flag fly with a big budget whirlwind of monsters and mayhem, and while it’s a shame he never got to finish his trilogy, this represents the high-water mark of his comic book dalliances.
4. The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
His ability to seamlessly sew together real-world history with fantasy has long been one of del Toro’s defining traits, and his first attempt at it is undoubtedly one of his finest, foreshadowing Pan’s Labyrinth’s devastating war drama/fantasy hybrid with an equally affecting war drama/ghost story mix in The Devil’s Backbone.
While The Devil’s Backbone’s story is certainly somber, focusing on an orphanage populated by children of parents killed fighting in the Spanish Civil War, it’s this emotional impact that allows the film’s fantastical horror to resonate.
Guillermo del Toro movies ranked continued…
3. The Shape of Water (2017)
Led by a superb Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water is a touching story of connection across a divide.
Equal parts Splash and Creature from the Black Lagoon, the film is the most classic of fairy tales, yet Guillermo del Toro elevates it all with a style and a real-world darkness that’s all his own.
2. Pinocchio (2022)
Heartfelt and heart-breaking, Pinocchio is a beautifully textured, wonderfully animated retelling of a classic.
As mortifying as it is magical, Guillermo del Toro blesses us with a dark and delightful stop-motion reflection on love, life, and loss, and undoubtedly one of his finest efforts to date.
1. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Meshing high fantasy with real-world historical horrors, Guillermo del Toro once again walks a thin line with Pan’s Labyrinth, yet never falters.
Full of terrifying monsters, both tangible and fantastical, Pan’s Labyrinth is a masterclass in thought-provoking genre filmmaking that will stay with you.
While he’s certainly come close, del Toro’s balance of emotion, drama, horror, and fantasy has never been better, immersing us in a beautifully rendered imaginary world, grounded in unspeakable true-life terror.
