40 Celebrities We Need To Keep Safe From 2016

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 29: Guillermo Del Toro book signing for ‘Guillermo Del Toro: At Home With Monsters’ held at LACMA on July 29, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

39. Guillermo del Toro

Speaking as someone who’s been immersed in the horror genre since the tender age of nine, I have to say, quality horror is hard to come by. The genre falls victim to fads like any other. Some of them are good—phenomenal, even—and some of them are completely-devoid-of-feeling bad. Found footage, for instance, is pretty hit-or-miss (although I must admit, some of the misses are my greatest guilty pleasures). But there are those who have never let me down. George A. Romero, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, the late great Shirley Jackson, and—the focal point of my submission here—Guillermo del Toro.

At 51, del Toro has enjoyed a successful career with modern masterpieces like Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak. Good god, Crimson Peak—I could watch that movie every day and never tire of it. Del Toro has a knack for fantasy, suspense, and some of the most gorgeous cinematography known to film. Every time I watch one of his movies, all I can do is gape and say, “That was… So. Good. It was so good. I just… It’s so good.” I’m an insufferable chatterbox, so to render me speechless is an impressive feat. But del Toro does so, every time. His work is beautifully crafted, emotionally resonant, and truly one of a kind.

I like to think del Toro is timeless, indestructible, but you can never play it too safe. The man has so much to offer in his stories, and I won’t ever be ready for that to end.

-Katie

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