3. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
If you've seen
Pan's Labyrinth, you'll know that it's a bold, violent and - in places - terrifying foray into the mind of Guillermo del Toro, and one that you probably shouldn't show to your children until they're, like, twenty five or something (or they know what the Spanish Civil War is, at least). So whereas the studio wanted you to think that
Pan's Labyrinth was a magical movie about a young girl who goes into a labyrinth and meets all kinds of brilliant creatures and has adventures and stuff (much like 1986's
Labyrinth, with Jennifer Connelly) it really, really wasn't that at all. Well, for the most part it wasn't, anyway. Although there are creatures and fantasy moments to be had, the majority of Del Toro's movie concerns real-world issues - and they are not presented lightly or dumbed down for kids. There are guns going off and bloody massacres taking place all the way through this one. And it wasn't just the trailer that misled audiences as to the tone of the film: the posters and the artwork for
Pan's Labyrinth all emphasise the movie's fantastical nature, and play down its Civil War setting. Still, who cares in retrospect? The actual movie emerged as something close to a masterpiece. A deceiving, child-scaring masterpiece.