No matter how hard he tries, Guillermo Del Toro just can't stop his love for classic horror from clawing its way into his movies. Even when he's creating such a magical adult-orientated fantasy story like Pan's Labyrinth, the filmmaker's superb eye for suspense still manages to find its way into his films somehow. With Pan's Labyrinth, Del Toro sets up an excellent piece of visual horror, as "The Pale Man" sits motionless at the end of an extravagant dining table full of food. Unmoving for much of the scene, the creature suddenly comes to life once little Ofelia picks a grape from the elaborate feast. As an audience your eyes are fixed on the Pale Man for the entire scene, nervously anticipating the moment he's going to inevitably spring to life. Both the suspenseful build up and anticipation of when he's going to move as well as the creatively grotesque design and movements of the monster makes for an utterly unnerving horror-inspired sequence. Unlike other movies that scare you by surprising you with things that come from outside of the frame, Del Toro puts the object of horror right there in the focus, taunting you with the unpredictable nature of when it's going to come into play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSICJJq86ic
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
