Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno) is a 2006 Mexican dark-fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films. The film was selected by the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas (English: Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences) to represent the country in the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.

Pan's Labyrinth takes place in Spain in May -- June 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War, during the early Francoist period. The narrative of the film interweaves this real world with a fantasy world centered around an overgrown abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun creature, with which the main character, Ofelia, interacts. Ofelia's stepfather, the Falangist Captain Vidal, hunts the Spanish Maquis who fight against the Fascist reign in the region, while Ofelia's pregnant mother grows increasingly ill. Ofelia meets several strange and magical creatures who become central to her story, leading her through the trials of the old labyrinth garden. The film employs make-up, animatronics and CGI effects to bring life to its creatures.

This film was not aimed at a younger audience. This movie had some extreme scenes of violence that threw off a lot of people who weren’t expecting this from a fantasy movie. The direction was incredible, the story dark and intense, and the combination is fantastic! This isn’t a movie for the weak stomached or someone looking for a pleasant easy fantasy film, but it is a fantastic work, as indicated by the fact that it ranks as the #54 movie all time on IMDB.