Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is already making waves since its Venice Film Festival debut, with early reactions indicating that it’s yet another masterpiece from one of our best, most unusual directors. if you’re just dying to see more than a trailer for this movie, good news: Fox has released the first clip from the movie today, introducing us to our heroine, our villain, and one weird-looking fish-man.

In the clip, Doug Jones’ amphibious creature, trapped in a coffin-shaped tank, is wheeled into a warehouse by Michael Shannon and his cronies. Sally Hawkins’ Elisa is there, along with Octavia Spencer’s Zelda, two cleaners employed by a secret government laboratory. Elisa and the fish-man immediately have a connection, as she leans over the glass to see what kind of creature Shannon’s brought in to study.

Maybe it’s the fact that this is all set inside a secret facility, or all the machines and steam-driven devices in the background, but this feels extremely Hellboy to me. It’s fun to see del Toro return to that distinctive steampunk-ish style, and we’re sure to see much more of it in the coming months leading up to its release.

From master story teller Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER – an other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones.

The Shape of Water hits theaters December 8.

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