"No, not vampires; the late William Gay unfortunately didn't anticipate the world takeover of Bella and Edward when he named his backwoods Tennessee gothic novel, but it is no less a stunning web of Cormac McCarthy-esque necrophilia, murder, spot-on rural dialogue, and haunting renditions of nature. He is my new favorite writer."

"Another brilliant adaptation, this time of a Davis Grubb novel (a bestseller). It’s a gothic fairytale of childhood, full of shadows and silhouettes and countless images that linger in your head forever after. I first saw this as a kid, and the stupendously terrifying Robert Mitchum (as a murderous “man of god”) still hasn’t left my haunted unconscious."

"Bride of Frankenstein is absolutely perfect. It has the innocence and beauty of a fairy tale, but has the darkness of a gothic horror tale. So the combination is irresistible. [On hearing that Hellboy comics creator Mike Mignola also named Bride of Frankenstein among his favorite films, del Toro said with a smile, “Well, we are alike in some aspects.”]"