Unlike most horror movies, this chiller gives equal prominence to reality and fantasy, though the reality is far more frightening.
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:188
Fresh:179
Rotten:9
Average Rating:8.5/10
Consensus: Pan's Labyrinth is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups, with the horrors of both reality and fantasy blended together into an extraordinary, spellbinding fable. Told through the eyes of a little girl whose imaginary world is inhabited by nightmarish creatures, Pan's Labyrinth is a visually imaginative and allegorical take on the fears she faced in Spain during WWII.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for graphic violence and some language
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:24-11-2006
Synopsis: Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a thrilling, violent fairy tale set in post-Civil War Spain. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, a young girl who moves with her mother,... Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a thrilling, violent fairy tale set in post-Civil War Spain. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, a young girl who moves with her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), into the home of Captain Vidal (Sergi López), in an abandoned mill in the middle of dark, dangerous woods. Vidal is leading his team of soldiers against resistance fighters--and he will do whatever is necessary to kill every last one of them. As Vidal bosses around the pregnant Carmen, a flying creature leads Ofelia through a garden labyrinth and into an underground cave ruled by Pan (HELLBOY's Doug Jones), who believes that Ofelia might be the lost princess of this strange yet magical place. To prove she is royalty, Ofelia must complete three tasks, each more difficult and terrifying than the previous one. Meanwhile, Vidal is becoming more and more paranoid, torturing and murdering seemingly at will. Del Toro (THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, CRONOS) creates a marvelous battle between good and evil, between heroes and villains, in both the real world aboveground and the mystical land below. Baquero gives a compelling performance as the terrorized Ofelia, who is befriended by Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), a woman who harbors some secrets of her own. Stellar production design, superb special effects, and a stirring score by Javier Navarrete add to the scary fun. Selected as the closing-night entry in the 2006 New York Film Festival, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a captivating story that is not for the squeamish. [More]
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Doug Jones, Alex Angulo, Roger Casamajor, Ivana Massague
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Screenwriter: Guillermo Del Toro
Producer: Berta Navarro, Alfonso Cuaron, Frida Torresblanco, Alvaro Augustin
Composer: Javier Navarrete
Studio: Picturehouse
Reviews for Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a political fable in the guise of a fairy tale. Or maybe it's the other way around.
It's like being in a labyrinth, you never know what's going to be around the next corner.
Is (1) a victim of its own hype, and (2) nothing like what it's being marketed as, but there is an audience involvement writer-director Guillermo del Toro manages to work up all the same.
...a precious chance to feel the wonder and fear of childhood once again.
A fresh opportunity to revel in the darkly beautiful dreamscapes unleashed by the increasingly masterful del Toro.
The dream horrors of the labyrinth mirror the human horrors of the world above in the way that classic fairy tales, in their unexpurgated form, always have.
Whole worlds open before our eyes and then fold back upon themselves; dimensions of time and space are creased into shape as if the movie was an elaborate origami creation.
Del Toro's obvious strength here is his forceful vision of a night-time fantasy and his ability to bring that vision to pulsating life.
This morbid, visually stunning fairy tale gives you plenty to think about and plenty to be entertained by.
The only part where Pan errs is in its marketing, via a top-of-the-poster blurb that proclaims it a “fairy tale for grown-ups.”
Like his terrific 2001 The Devil’s Backbone, Mexican horrormeister Guillermo del Toro’s new movie offers us both real-life and fantastical monsters, and if you know his work, you won’t waste time figuring out which to root for.
An achievement. Many films with 'split personalities' invest all their creative energy into one aspect of the story, causing the other one to founder and feel obligatory.
Literally and figuratively marvelous, a rich, daring mix of fantasy and politics.
Pan succeeds both as a spectacular special-effects fantasy and as a psychological drama, with superb actors.
An escape from everyday dreariness of which you'll want more than the film will offer.
An astonishingly inventive portrait of childhood fears and hopes, an eerily beautiful modern fairy tale that truly merits the overused adjective magical.
He's managed to create one of those unexpected masterpieces that both touches both our inner child and our inner cynic, something that not too many people can do.
...a startling, idiosyncratic combination of children's fantasy and brutal political realism that switches effortlessly from early Fascist-era Spain to the fairytale world of a young girl's imagination.
For adults who remember those long-ago nights under the covers... its temptations prove almost too much to resist.
Latest News for Pan's Labyrinth
April 21, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with Ron Perlman
While he's become best known for portraying a red, horned antihero in Guillermo del Toro's popular comic book adaptations Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Ron Perlman... More...
November 14, 2008:
Five Favorite Films with Guillermo del Toro
RT caught up with Hellboy II director Guillermo del Toro at the DVD/Blu-ray Launch Event for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, where the celebrated fantasy auteur shared his favorite... More...
July 13, 2008:
Guillermo del Toro - RT's Dinner and the Movies Interview
We have an extended chat with the director of Cronos, Pan's Labyrinth and this week's Hellboy II to talk about his career past, present and future and tap him for juicy... More...
July 01, 2008:
Edinburgh 2008: What to Watch
We share twenty of the best films screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, currently running in the Scottish city. More...
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