Every Guillermo Del Toro Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Hellboy erupted onto cinema screens in 2004 and proved del Toro was just as great at creating contemplative dramas and Gothic horrors as he was at creating oddly heartfelt action flicks. Blade II was just a stepping stone; this was del Toro perfecting what he'd learned.

Watching it now, it may not seem particularly daring, since its superhero origin story format has been done to absolute death since its release, but both del Toro and a perfectly cast Ron Perlman are so committed to the crass, violent, coolness of it all that it'll make you pine desperately for pre-MCU sludge.

With gnarly monsters, grim visuals and well-crafted worldbuilding, Hellboy is neither perfect nor dull, but instead emerges as something altogether more interesting and rare: A superhero film with a filmmaker whose voice shines through the chaos, and is having so much fun every scene leaves you grinning.