Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ Gets New Clip, Rave Reviews (VIDEO)

Fox Searchlight seems to have a lot of faith in the potential awards power of Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water. They've pushed the film from an October release back to December 9, hoping to capitalize on the enormous buzz coming out of the Venice Film Festival where the film has opened to almost unanimous rave reviews. This new clip gives us a solid introduction to a lot of the main cast.

Del Toro's been down this road before with 2006's masterful horror fantasy Pan's Labyrinth. The biggest problem with that film was the subtitles, which American audiences refuse to embrace, so it didn't get the love it deserved. Here, Del Toro has learned his lesson and brought another fantasy parable about the perils of authoritarian power to life, this time in English.

As a longtime devotee of his work—I'm sad to say it was Blade 2 that turned me into a fan initially—I'm eager to see what Del Toro does with what seems like another bullseye right in his sweet spot. Del Toro is like a smarter and darker version of JJ Abrams, except instead of Spielberg, Del Toro was brought up on H.P. Lovecraft and Mexican folklore and Hammer Horror films. He's the kind of geek who honors his influences rather than trying to ape them to death. The Shape of Water hits theaters on December 9.