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Guillermo Del Toro Directs 'Simpsons' Halloween Couch Gag

Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro scares up a history of horror in the opening credits of The Simpsons’ “Treehouse of Horror XXIV,” airing Sunday, October 6, on FOX.

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Director, screenwriter, producer and novelist Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim, Pan’s Labyrinth) resurrects some historic Halloween goblins and ghouls in The Simpsons’ opening couch gag on this season’s terrifyingly hilarious “Treehouse of Horror XXIV,” airing Sunday, Oct. 6 on FOX.

In the couch gag opener, director del Toro throws the crypt wide open with a sequence that features monsters and classic characters from horror films throughout history. Then, in the first of three spine-tingling tales in the annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode, Homer travels around Springfield wreaking havoc in a rhyming take on a popular children’s tale. In “Dead and Shoulders” Bart is beheaded during a kite accident, his head is attached to Lisa’s body and they must live together as one. The final frightening tale, “Freaks no Geeks,” features Mr. Burns’ traveling circus, The Burnsum and Bailey Circus, which has stopped in Springfieldland in the 1930s. Trapeze artist Marge and Strong Man Homer are performers, and things go awry when circus freak Moe starts to make advances towards Marge.

A former special effects makeup artist in his home country of Mexico, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s credits include Cronos, Mimic, The Devil's Backbone, Blade II, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. He is best known for his 2006 film Pan’s Labyrinth, which earned three Academy Awards, and he most recently directed the summer hit Pacific Rim.

The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween episodes are an annual tradition. Each episode is a trilogy of separate, self-contained tales. These pieces involve horror, science fiction or a supernatural setting, and always take place outside the normal confines of the show. Regular characters from The Simpsons play humorous special roles, occasionally being killed in gruesome ways by zombies, monsters or even each other. The Halloween episodes also parody many classic horror and science fiction films and television series, such as The Shining, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, Dracula, Living Doll, Paranormal Activity, The Twilight Saga and 28 Days Later.

Source: Fox Broadcasting Company

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.

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