10 Essential Movies Guillermo Del Toro Demands You See

2. Vampyr

When most horror fans think of examples of classic silent horror movies, Nosferatu and The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari often spring to mind first. Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr is often overlooked, something Guillermo del Toro would probably find unforgivable. Vampyr is as austere as anything else made by Dreyer, who earned a reputation for his pared down and stark visual style which forced an economy of light and shadow. Describing Vampyr as a "memento mori", del Toro outlined how "the film enthrones the right morbid imagery (skull, scythe, white limbo) in order to maximize the impact of the beautiful, almost intangible images that conclude it." So passionate is Guillermo del Toro about Vampyr that he even contributed a commentary track to the UK DVD release - it fits into his own body of work in which cinema exhibits the power to act as "a stern reminder of death as the threshold of spiritual liberation." Also recommended: Haxan