Guillermo’s Ghosts

On the occasion of the release of Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited Frankenstein adaptation, the Cinémathèque dives into the early, Spanish-language part of the Mexican director’s filmography – while offering a screening of Universal’s iconic 1931 Frankenstein adaptation as a bonus.

The Early Films of Guillermo del Toro

The filmmaker’s feature debut, Cronos, never released in Luxembourg, introduces del Toro’s fascination with the monstrous and the supernatural in a vampiric tale marbled with violence and high emotional stakes that turns the protagonist himself into a phantom-like figure.

The Devil’s Backbone uses the ghost of a murdered boy trapped in a decaying orphanage as a spectral embodiment of Spain’s Civil War scars. The ghost’s silent presence is both a chilling force and a poignant reminder of innocence destroyed, haunting a space that feels suspended between life and death. Del Toro’s restrained visuals and oppressive atmosphere ground the supernatural firmly in historical reality, making the ghost a symbol of the country’s unresolved trauma.

By contrast, Pan’s Labyrinth blurs the line between ghosts and dark, child-like fantasies. The story’s many spectral elements – spirits, fauns, and otherworldly creatures – are suggestive of the political violence still felt in immediate postwar Spain. The ethereal figures serve as guides and judges in this dark fairy tale, representing at once an escape from and the moral weight of the child protagonist’s complex reality.

Together, these films showcase del Toro’s unique use of ghosts and spectral figures—not just as horror tropes but as embodiments of memory, loss, and the lingering presence of history.

What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? A moment of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber. A ghost. That's what I am.

Guillermo del Toro

J’allais à l’église catholique, et les saints n’avaient aucun sens pour moi. Mais 'Frankenstein' avait du sens, 'The Wolfman' avait du sens, 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon' avait du sens. Alors j’ai choisi cela comme ma religion.

Guillermo del Toro