Guillermo Del Toro has become a household name in horror, his fantastic direction and imagination lending itself to distilling fear through his terrifying creations. With movies like Pan's Labyrinth and Crimson Peak in his filmography, none would dispute that Del Toro can take the title for crafting the most fearsome creatures.
Whether it is ghosts, monsters, or otherworldly entities that can't be so conveniently placed in a box, they are brought to life with the use of actors such as Doug Jones, who are known contortionists, to only fuel the fear factor, and impressive special effects that beggar belief.
8 Tooth Fairy – Hellboy 2
When someone thinks of the tooth fairy, the typical image of a tiny human woman with butterfly wings probably springs to mind. But in Hellboy 2, Del Toro went in a slightly different direction to create a more unique and less beautiful creature.
Though still somewhat cute, they do have four insect-like legs lined with sharp hooks that look like they could deal serious damage. Not only that, these critters are not as small and friendly as they may look at first glance. They are ravenous creatures with a taste for flesh as well as teeth and are known to swarm their prey to try and eat them alive, a fact Hellboy learned the hard way.
7 Knifehead – Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim movies are a treasure trove of monsters, as they are creature features home to the terrifying kaiju that threaten the safety of every human on earth, and only by piloting giant mechas called Jaegars does humanity stand a chance at defending their home.
One such kaiju is Knifehead, aptly named for the large, pointed protrusion on its head. A staggering 106 meters tall and with its knife-like head that could cut throw an entire Jaegar, Knifehead is one of the more terrifying kaiju to butt heads with.
6 Reapers – Blade 2
The sequel to the much-loved Marvel vampire film, Blade 2 continues the story of the titular vampire hunter searching for his once presumed dead mentor, who was in fact embraced into vampirehood and held captive.
A pandemic is ravaging vampires, causing them to mutate into "Reapers," a new and terrifying subspecies of vampires. With a mandible-like jaw that can open to reveal a mouth of bloodthirsty horror, Reapers definitely stand out as one of the most terrifying vampires of all time, not just within the Blade universe.
5 Enola Sciotti – Crimson Peak
Del Toro's gothic horror masterpiece Crimson Peak oozed plenty of horrifying ghosts haunting the halls of this movie right from the very opening scene when protagonist Edith Cushing is visited by her mother's ghost who leaves her the chilling warning to beware of Crimson Peak. But as unfortunate fate would have it, Edith weds the inheriting son of it, Thomas Sharpe, and from there uncovers the mysteries and ghosts staining the dilapidated walls.
One such ghost that terrorizes Edith is Enola Sciotti, a red, partially skeletal ghost that is seen chasing Edith in one scene in a truly terrifying fashion. Though the story of Enola is tragic as she is just another victim of the Sharpe siblings, it doesn't make her appearance any less ghastly.
4 Santi – The Devil's Backbone
This ghostly Del Toro film is set in an orphanage in Spain, and so predictably plays host to the ghost of one of the orphans, Santi. Though Santi was once an innocent child who simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time, witnessing the greedy, gold-obsessed Jacinto's attempt to break into a safe. Jacinto then tried to threaten him into silence but ended up accidentally inflicting a mortal head wound.
Although Santi is the victim in this movie, his appearance is still ghoulish, with the ever-oozing head wound, pale cracked skin, and blackened eyes. These all serve to make Santi a terrifying ghost, even if he is worthy of sympathy.
3 Angel Of Death – Hellboy 2
The Hellboy movie series features a host of terrifying and creative Del Toro creations, one such being the Angel of Death as seen in Hellboy 2.
An actual personification of Hellboy's death, the Angel of Death features a grisly appearance to match its purpose in life. Large wings with an army of blinking eyes, a skeletal grin, and a half-moon head plater on its skull, it can't be denied its design is creative beyond measure and the perfect perversion of angels as described in the bible as a mass of halos and wings.
2 Dottie – Cabinet Of Curiosities, Episode 1
Cabinet of Curiosities featured more curiosities than monsters it seems, but the first episode, "Lot 36," featured one of the few tangible monsters in the series. The episode follows the story of a war veteran, Nick, who buys storage lots in a bid to find some valuables to repay the loan sharks he owes, but he gets more than he bargains for with Lot 36.
Dottie, the sister of the previous lot owner, is found lying inside a pentagram drawn of red sand sans her face, and when the pentagram is broken, her body is reanimated by something otherworldly, causing a mass of writhing tentacles to erupt from her face in a grotesque show of Lovecraftian gore.
1 The Pale Man – Pan's Labyrinth
The Pale Man stands out not only as Del Toro's most notorious creature but one of film history's most terrifying monsters. With the sagging folds of skin falling away from its tall, skeletal frame, eyeless face, and the eyes instead on the palms of its hands, the Pale Man is a horrifying monster sure to continue on in the memories and the nightmares of all who watched Pan's Labyrinth.
The scene of Ofelia encountering him is filled with intense fear, as the Pale Man sits motionless at the table, leaving the viewers and poor Ofelia wondering when he would awake and begin moving. Of course, he does and chases Ofelia down in a suspenseful chase scene until she manages to draw a door and climb to freedom. This is the only scene the Pale Man appears in the movie, but it remains so iconic and terrifying it's the scene most people will think of first when remembering the movie.