As one of the great visionary filmmakers of modern cinema, Guillermo Del Toro has made several high-profile films mostly set in the fantasy genre.

The Oscar-nominated director of Hellboy (2004), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Pacific Rim (2013) and Crimson Peak (2015) is back with his latest project The Shape of Water which depicts the unlikely relationship between human and creature.

Touted as a potential Oscar contender, the romantic fantasy has unveiled its official UK trailer online.

Set in Cold War-era America, the plot centres on a lonely, mute woman named Elisa Esposito who works as a cleaner at a government laboratory. Her life changes forever when she discovers a secret amphibious man who is being kept in the facility as part of a secret experiment. Elisa falls in love with the creature and attempts to help him escape but faces threats from a sinister government agent.

British actress Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky, Paddington 2) plays Elisa in a role that saw her recently named Best Actress by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Additionally, the film also stars Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, Hidden Figures) as Elisa’s colleague and friend Zelda Fuller and Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Nocturnal Animals) as creepy agent Richard Strickland while there are also appearances from Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, Jack Reacher), Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire, Doctor Strange) and Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth, Star Trek: Discovery).

The Shape of Water will be released in the UK on February 14th (Valentine’s Day) 2018.