It seems to comes out of nowhere, which is half the reason why the infamous bottle scene in Pan's Labyrinth has affected so many people over the years - people whose idea of a good time is "not sitting through said scene ever again." Set during the Spanish Civil War, the moment in question occurs when the evil Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez) decides to punish a rebel using the bottom of a glass bottle to batter his face into nothingness. After whacking him around the chops with it, Vidal grabs the rebel and pulls him in close, and then proceeds to bring it down in a sequence of bloody terror. The sound effect as the bottle collides with said rebel's face and nose is enough to send shivers up your spine, but there's something about the way that Vidal just keeps going and going and going like some demented robot that renders this scene as plainly horrific. Even in a dark fantasy film, this sort of violence was just unexpected.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
