Pan's Labyrinth

Not to be confused with the 1986 Labyrinth movie by Jim Henson

Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno, lit. The Labyrinth of the Faun) is a 2006 Mexican-Spanish dark fantasy drama film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil.

Plot
It's 1944 and the Allies have invaded Nazi-held Europe. In Spain, a troop of soldiers are sent to a remote forest to flush out the rebels. They are led by Capitan Vidal, a murdering sadist, and with him are his new wife Carmen and her daughter from a previous marriage, 11-year-old Ofelia. Ofelia witnesses her stepfather's sadistic brutality and is drawn into Pan's Labyrinth, a magical world of mythical beings.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The film can be considered by many to be a horror version of Alice in Wonderland, due to its similar themes. It also has similar scenes too, such as when Ofelia follows a bug into a labyrinth.
 * 2) It's known for having very graphic violence, which is what makes the movie so captivating. The monsters are also very scary to look at, especially the Pale Man.
 * 3) BRILLIANT acting. The little girl carries the whole movie on her shoulders with her amazing performance as Ofelia.
 * 4) The settings are absolutely beautiful, especially the labyrinth itself and the tree where the frog lives.
 * 5) Ofelia herself is an amazing character, an innocent girl in the middle of the civil war, with her only escape being her fairytale books.
 * 6) There’s a very strong anti-fascist message in this movie, due to it taking place during the Spanish War. Del Toro himself has also stated that it’s supposed to be a parable that addresses and continues certain themes, and it’s executed really well.
 * 7) The makeup is very impressive and well-done, especially for the faun.
 * 8) Also, a good use of animatronics are used to bring life to the creatures.
 * 9) Amazing monsters and magical creatures. Especially the Pale Man (a grotesque monster with eyes on it's palms and an appetite for children), Faun (a goat-like humanoid than serves as Ofelia's guide during her journey in the fantasy world).
 * 10) While the film is quite long, suspense is sustained throughout, making it pretty frightening.
 * 11) The musical score is delightful and memorable, as it’s able to mix with the visuals, emotion, and action, so much that you don’t notice its specific effect.
 * 12) Emotional Ending: Mercedes enters the labyrinth and comforts a motionless but breathing Ofelia. Drops of Ofelia's blood fall down the centre of the spiral stone staircase onto an altar. Ofelia, well dressed and uninjured, then appears in a golden throne room. The King of the underworld tells her that, by choosing to spill her own blood rather than that of another innocent, she passed the final test. The faun praises Ofelia for her choice, addressing her once more as "Your Highness". The Queen of the underworld, her mother, invites Ofelia to sit next to her father and rule at his side. Back in the stone labyrinth, Ofelia smiles as she dies in Mercedes' arms. The epilogue completes the tale of Princess Moanna, stating that she returned to the Underworld, ruled wisely for many centuries, and left quiet traces of her time in the human realm "visible only to those who know where to look."

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Dull CGI, which is a common problem within Del Toro's films.

Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 95% based on 229 reviews with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's consensus reads: "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." Based on reviews from 37 critics, it received a 98/100 score at Metacritic, making it Metacritic's best-reviewed film of the 2000s decade.