Acclaimed Film Director Guillermo del Toro Disappointed and Terrified by Encounter with “Crappy” UFO

In a November speaking engagement at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film & TV, acclaimed film director Guillermo del Toro described an encounter with a UFO near Cerro del Cuatro, Mexico. Being a master storyteller of fantasy movies with lavish visuals such as Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, it should come as no surprise that he was disappointed by the otherwise mundane appearance of what he called a "crappy" UFO — although he says that the encounter was the most terrifying experience of his life.

"You sound like a complete lunatic, but I saw a UFO. I didn’t want to see a UFO. It was horribly designed."

Although del Toro doesn’t mention when this encounter took place, he outlined the details of the interaction he and his companion had with the object.

"I was with a friend… we didn’t consume, we bought a six-pack. We didn’t consume it and there was a place called Cerro del Cuatro, "Mountain of the Four," and outside, in the periphery of Guadalajara. We said, "Let’s go to the highway." We sit down to watch the stars and have the beer and talk. We were the only guys by the freeway. And we saw a light on the horizon going, super-fast, not linear like. And I said, "Honk and flash the lights." And we started honking."

"And it went from there to here — like 1,000 meters away — in less than a second and it was so crappy," del Toro continued. "It was a flying saucer. So clichéd, with lights going like this. It’s so sad. I wish I could reveal they’re not what you think they are. They are what you think they are. And the fear we felt was so primal."

Despite del Toro’s tongue-in-cheek dismissal of the object’s boring appearance, the fear he and his friend experienced was not nearly as clichéd.

"Seriously, like I have never been that scared ever in my life. We jumped in the car, drove really fast. I kept looking. It was following us. And then I looked back and it was gone. So, you know, judge me. I have no implant… I think."