Guillermo del Toro reflects on ‘Blade II’
Guillermo del Toro‘s work has always had a layer of mythology surrounding the horror that often pervades the cinematic experience of his films. So when he directed the Blade sequel released back in 2002, it was an exciting prospect.
Blade II is the second instalment of the excellent Marvel Comics franchise, starring Wesley Snipes as the titular half-human, half-vampire. With a deceased human mother during childbirth, Blade defends humans from an onslaught of vampires who seek the end of the human race.
Del Toro said of making the film: “It was absolutely a blast. It’s when I started to want to experience huge changes from one movie to the other. I really almost came to the system of not repeating the same movie consecutively. I wanted a huge change.”
He added: “If The Devil’s Backbone is chamber music, Blade II is black metal. It goes to what I think is the essence of action movies, which is very close to the musical genre. You basically have musical numbers tied by a story that is very melancholic.” Del Toro had reportedly grown tired of the trope of “vampires being tortured Victorian heroes” and had wanted to give them a scary edge once more.
So too, did Wesley Snipes enjoy reprising his role as Blade. He said: “I love playing this role. It’s fun as an actor to test your skills at doing a sequel, to see if you can recreate something that you did.” Del Toro commented on Snipes’ role, saying, “Wesley knows Blade better than David Goyer, better than me, better than anyone else involved in the franchise. He instinctively knows what the character would and wouldn’t do, and every time he twists something around, something better would come out”.
Blade II certainly was the very essence of action movies, and it carried the air of black metal: the costumes, the contrast between light and dark and the badass attitude running throughout. Del Toro would follow up Blade II with Hellboy in 2004, and the nature of Blade II would also be found in the film adaptation of Mike Mignola’s graphic novel.
Discussing Hellboy alongside Blade, del Toro said: “When I did Blade, and I did Hellboy, it was sort of a counter to everything that was being done, it was a time in which superhero movies were not that dark, and I wanted to make them dark and make them adult. I loved the first Blade, and I thought I could add a layer of savagery.”
Del Toro certainly turned the superhero genre on its head with Blade II and Hellboy, giving them both a layer of darkness that only del Toro could muster up. He concluded, “I had an interest in the superhero movie when it was not pursued by the large industry. I like to do things that are counter to what is being done.“
