Video: Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is a dark fairy tale about the forbidden romance between an amphibious, humanoid cryptid and Elisa, a mute woman who works for the government agency that’s secretly keeping him prisoner. Strange as their romance might seem at first, there’s an element of mystery to the creature that sort of makes you understand Elisa’s fascination.
Image: Fox Searchlight
Del Toro’s always been a master of keeping just enough of his monstrous creations shrouded in shadow to make them haunting, but in the film’s latest trailer, the director reminds us that he knows when to play it straight and force us to confront the things hiding in the darkness. The Amphibious Man does bear a number of similarities to del Toro’s take on Abe Sapien from his Hellboy films, but his face is decidedly more human in appearance, featuring well-defined lips and nose.
The creature is still monstrous and unsettling to see outside of water, but maybe that‘s what Elisa likes so much about him. Take a look for yourselves.