Pan's Labyrinth

2006 Director Guillermo del Toro

Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro returns to fantasy cinema that defined such early works as Cronos with this haunting drama set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

It concerns the strange journeys of an imaginative young girl who may be the mythical princess of an underground kingdom. Her mother recently married a sadistic army captain and is soon to bear the cruel military man's child. The young girl is forced to entertain herself as her recently-formed family settles into their new home nestled deep in the Spanish countryside. As her bed-ridden mother lies immobilized in anticipation of her forthcoming child and her high-ranking stepfather remains determined to fulfill the orders of General  Franco to crush a nearby guerrilla uprising, the young girl soon ventures into an elaborate stone labyrinth presided over by the mythical faun Pan. Convinced by Pan that she is the lost princess of legend and that in order to return to her underground home she must complete a trio of life-threatening tasks, she sets out to reclaim her kingdom.

Beautifully shot and acted this film is a huge improvement on del Torro's earlier works. Although the plot is classical the delivery is done with impressive imagination and flair. Well worth watching although some of the scenes are definitely not for the young, notably the scene where the Captain beats a soldier to death with a bottle and the whole sequence with the eyeless monster.

Cronos

1993 Director Guillermo del Torro

This the Guillermo del Toro's directorial debut film.

The film tells the story of elderly antique dealer Jesus Gris who, with his eight-year-old granddaughter Aurora,  discovers an ancient artifact secreted within a statue obtained from the estate of a 16th-century alchemist. Unbeknownst to Gris, the device houses an immortal parasite which will grant eternal life to its host. Naturally, there is a terrible price for this gift, which Gris is doomed to discover after the object anchors itself to his body. He begins to develop an extreme aversion to daylight, as well as an agonizing thirst for human blood. To compound matters, dying millionaire has learned of the device's existence.

This is a classic Vampire tale albeit with an inventive twist to it. It pays homage to many of the classic films of this genre. The cover hails it as one of the greatest chillers of all time, but I think it falls short by quite a mark. The girl's role is ambiguous and her actions are counterintuitive for one so young. If you are a vampire film fan then this is probably worth the view. If this isn't your preferred genre then you're not missing anything by giving it a miss.