Guillermo Del Toro: At Home with the Monsters Part 3

The best thing about the exhibit was Guillermo Del Toro's love of the horror genre. Many actors, directors, and writers see horror as a way to break into the business and use it as only a stepping stone to something else. He has always be fascinated and views it as his home, revering high brow and low brow horror alike. He will continue to be inspired by and contribute to the horror genre.

* General horror art inspirations

I was especially excited to see Stephen Gammell's illustrations from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I loved these stories as a kid and the macabre, surreal art made a big impression on me.

* Other horror films

Compilations of Del Toro's films also played throughout the exhibit to link theme and imagery I didn't catch before. One of my favorite clips was a short film he directed for the show The Strain, which featured a luchador vampire hunter wrestling and then battling vampires. I had no idea luchador horror films existed and now I have to watch them. If you have a chance, definitely go to this exhibit. It's surprisingly large. These pictures are only some of what is displayed. I could have spent all day there.

Guillermo Del Toro: At Home with the Monsters Part 2

Guillermo Del Toro is inspired by fantasy, science fiction, and horror and all contribute to his works. Here are his main inspirations.

* Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft - This is apparent in his penchant for gothic horror and large scale creatures.

* Fairy Tales - I didn't take a lot of pictures of these for some reason. The below picture is the fairy tale book found by Ofelia in Pan's Labyrinth. Del Toro often makes films about children that treat them as intelligent beings affected by the world around them. Both Pan's Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, and The Devil's Backbone have children dealing with the real world horror of living in war time and the fantastical horror of ghosts, mythical beings, and giant monsters. A lot of parallels can be drawn between Pan's Labyrinth and Alice in Wonderland, which I feel silly I didn't notice until this exhibit.

* Frankenstein and Freaks - He's drawn to writing about outsiders and people removed or shunned from society.

Stay tuned for more of this exhibit! You can check it out at LACMA until November 27.

Guillermo Del Toro: At Home with the Monsters Part 1

I recently went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for their Guillermo Del Toro exhibit, At Home with the Monsters. I was amazed at everything that was included that are typically displayed at Del Toro's own home. Below are set pieces and costumes from his films. It was amazing to see them up close because the small details are amazing and oftentimes lost on the big screen.

Hellboy

Pan's Labyrinth

Crimson Peak

Stay tuned for part 2!