10 Best Horror Movies Set In The Past
1. Pan’s Labyrinth
It's Guillermo again, and a film that many see as his masterpiece.
Set in the midst of General Franco's fascist rule over Spain, Pan's Labyrinth details the life of Ofelia, a young girl living with her pregnant mother and her soldier stepfather.
Whilst escaping the horrors of war and her personal circumstances, Ofelia encounters a faun who tells her that she is actually the reincarnated princess of a magical kingdom.
Jackpot!
Ofelia's quest to regain her memories as the princess is a welcome distraction from her stepfather's ruthless tracking of republican rebels. It's unclear whether or not her exploits are real or just her imagination helping her to cope.
In the end, it doesn't matter what's real or not, because the world created by Pan's Labyrinth is beautiful. It's also terrifying, as the infamous Pale Man sequence will show you.
That poor fairy...
Using its historical setting fully to its advantage, Pan's Labyrinth is an absolute triumph of a horror, a fantasy, a coming of age, a historical drama - you name it, it's got it.
Except maybe "light-hearted family comedy". Not so much of that going on with the Pale Man around.