Pan’s Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro in 2006 stars Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil and Sergi López. The story follows Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a naïve book child, desperate to explore and live in her fantasy world. Ofelia and her mother are sent to live with her new husband, the captain. Ofelia’s mother is pregnant with a baby boy and is soon to give birth. At the arrival at the captain’s house, Ofelia rushes of to explore the grounds. On the captain’s property, Ofelia finds an old deteriorating labyrinth. Later in the movie, Ofelia returns to the labyrinth to explore it in disregard to the risks. With Ofelia’s mother in bed most of the day and the captain busy with work, Ofelia has a knack of getting in to mischief. In the labyrinth, Ofelia meets a wise old faun who believes her to be part of a prophecy of another world. She is believed to be a lost princess who is deemed to return to her kingdom. But before returning to her world, the faun gives her a series of task’s that must be completed. But they turn out to be much different than anyone expects.

This movie being made in Spanish, and having to read English subtitles throughout the movie can be a little tiresome. But, the acting, costumes and set design will make you hold on to the end. The labyrinth was extremely spooky and all the monsters were fabulously done. Every monster strayed away from their stereotypes; Guillermo del Toro really paints a new, fresh and creative look on the creatures on the labyrinth and the underworld. I enjoyed watching all the actors perform in this movie. In the end of this movie, almost everybody turns out to be not exactly how you might expect them to be. I don’t want to give anything away to anyone, but surely you will notice splendid character development. Anybody will most likely enjoy this film above the age 10-12 and up. With a few intense scenes, young viewers might easily get scared. All in all, loved this movie for all its aspects. Worth the money 100%.

5/5 stars

Shane Sullivan