Pan’s Labyrinth bases itself on the familiar structure of crossing seemingly mundane reality with the world of magic and fantasy. A young girl called Ofelia lives in 1944 Spain (played by Ivana Baquero, most recently seen in Netflix’s Alta Mar). One night, Ofelia follows a fairy and enters a mystical labyrinth, where she meets a faun (Doug Jones). The faun entrusts Ofelia with tasks that are supposed to determine the fate of the magical realm, with the ever-present threat from the monstrous Pale Man (also played by Doug Jones, who befriended del Toro when they made Hellboy together in 2004). As the story progresses, we become acquainted with multiple characters in Ofelia’s human world, including her stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). The audience is given to understand that the similarities between what happens in the faun’s labyrinth and the unstable reality of the “actual” world are no coincidence.
Pan’s Labyrinth is regarded as dark fantasy because it’s different from the more cheerful approach of other fantasy movies. There’s quite a lot of horror in this one, as well as ominous audio cues to look out for, delivered in very nice 5.1 channel sound. If you’re easily disturbed, Pan’s Labyrinth may not be for you. We do wholeheartedly recommend it for its direct and touching take on the situation in Spain during the Franco regime. For each wonder and horror that occurs on the side of fantasy, Pan’s Labyrinth offers equal measure in the supposedly safe realm of our world, even in broad daylight.