UHM - Review - Pan's Labyrinth

I don't know how he did it, but Spanish writer/director Guillermo del Toro managed to top his previous flicks with this brutal masterpiece called Pan's Labyrinth. By viewing the trailer you may get the impression that its a dark children's fantasy, but of course that isn't the case considering it's rated-R, and after viewing the movie it's clear that it is not intended for young viewers. For one, the violence is very bloody and brutal when the scenes call for it, and the fantasy elements aren't a big part of the film. In fact, we seem to spend more time in the real world than we do in this fantasy world that the young lead actress lives in. So, the story is set during the fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain, where we revolve around a young girl named Ofelia, who traveled with her pregnant mother and top-ranking military officer step-father to the outskirts of Spain, where they've waged war against the local rebels.

Ofelia attempts to seclude herself from the post-war chaos by engulfing herself in a fantasy world of magnificent creatures, where she's given three tasks to accomplish in order to become princess of the "underworld" and reign with her true mother and father. These tasks include an encounter with a giant toad under an old tree and retrieving a dagger from "The Pale Man" whose eyeballs are on his hands. The movie brought back memories of children's films from the 80's involving a young child who goes through adventurous tasks in order to become part of or save a mystical world. Pan's Labyrinth pretty much delivers a similar theme, but also gives us a more realistic tone and brutality that would only be seen in the real world. This masterfully-directed film successfully blends fantasy, horror, and realism to offer us an original and engrossing cinematic masterpiece that'll be remembered from years to come. The film hits theaters in the US on December 29th, so mark your calendars.

OVERALL

Director Guillermo del Toro delivers us a masterpiece of dark fantasy and post-war drama that only he can do. This is definitely a film that you absolutely cannot miss.

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Strifer :

Posted 58 days ago

well i don't not going to spoil th ending but it could be a happy ending or a sad ending depending on the inerpretation, this talk I had it with a lot of my friends and some of them they think that is a sad ending ans he rest a happy one (it depends on the interpretation)

veronica :

Posted 115 days ago

I quite enjoyed this film. Story was great and I'm glad that they didn't overkill with having the fantasy world in too many scenes. The violence was just enough to entertain and not annoy me. I think there should be a lot more movies like though I didn't really like the ending, but then again I was never one for "happy" endings

J Roark :

Posted 124 days ago

I don't see why this movie should be taken off the site, it's scarier than some of these other craptastic movies. This is more of what I like to call a dark fantasy movie, a movie that even horror fans can appreciate even though it is a fantasy movie with some horror aspects to it. The creatures were down right intimidating looking, especially the pale man. It just has more of theatrical sense than these remake/totrure/asian-remake movies that are released now-a-days that are supposedly horror movies.

frightie :

Posted 133 days ago

Agreed, it should be removed from the site immediately!

Andres :

Posted 134 days ago

Hey, first of all, this is not a horror movie.. check it out here at IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/, its more a drama/fantasy movie, I don't know what it's doing here at this site... anyway I think this is a great and smart movie and worth a watch..! =D

The-Juice :

Posted 166 days ago

This movie kept me intrested even with subtitles. The pale man gave me nightmares for the first time since i watched the sixth sence when i was 8. the plot was exceptional but was brought down by the sub-par acting of the general. 8.9/10

Dale :

Posted 206 days ago

Ok, let me get this straight. What you ppl are saying is a movie with little to no blood isn't a good movie?

Romocop :

Posted 233 days ago

Wow... Some people don't understand good films. This film reinspired my drive to make movies.

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