Guillermo del Toro pays homage to classic horror films in "The Simpsons" (video)

 October 4, 2013 - 11:22 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Guillermo del Toro has created an epic opening to "The Simpsons" annual Halloween episode, "Treehouse of Horror XXIV", and the couch gag is now debuted online. The renowned filmmaker brings classic monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein's monster in the 2-minute-45-second opening titles, AceShowbiz said.

He includes homages to his own films with scenes featuring kaiju from "Pacific Rim" and characters from "Hellboy", "Blade II" and "Pan's Labyrinth" among others. the opening title additionally features a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's movies "The Birds" and "The Shining", and a take on "Alice in Wonderland" as well as horror movies such as "The Car" and "Creature from the Black Lagoon".

del Toro was initially offered to guest voice on the animated show or to create simple couch gag, but decided to make an elaborate one. "The Simpsons titles are so iconic and yet they've never been riffed in this vein," he explains his decision. "I really wanted to land the connections between the [show's] set pieces and the titles and some of the most iconic horror movies, and intersperse them with some of my stuff in there for pure joy."

The "Mimic" director is open to direct a "Treehouse of Horror" segment in the future. He says, "There's a lot of stuff in the title sequence that's pretty graphic, but it would be great to make a 'Treehouse of Horror' that is really scary - that actually makes you shiver."

"The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXVI" will air Sunday, October 6.