The thematic amalgamation of Guillermo Del Toro's period, horror-fantasy lends itself to a score both conflicted and entirely understanding of itself. Mixing malignant fairytale with the true horror of the Spanish civil war, Spanish composer Javier Navarrete captures the innocence of childhood and, like Victor Frankenstein, creates a melodic monster corrupted by the ugliness of life. To epitomise this, the score's over-arching theme is a lullaby. Expressed through the haunting, mournful humming of a woman (playing more on themes of childhood and maternity), it is interpolated throughout the narrative as an identifiable constant in a story that grapples between grim fantasy and harsh reality. In many of the individual pieces, this conflict can be appreciated. Most notably, the piece entitled 'The Labyrinth' resonates with all the gothic potency of the Brothers Grimm, without ever losing the militarized elements of the story's sub-plot, demonstrated in this piece by the faint, rhythmic beating of drums. It is this astute awareness of the film's themes that makes Navarrete's score such a pertinent element of the overall tone. It keeps audiences engaged with every part of the story and serves to re-awaken those inherent childhood fears within an adult audience, a feat that has anchored the film as one of cinema's modern classics.
