10 Terrifying War Horror Movies You Need To See

Pan’s Labyrinth is many things. Family drama, dark fantasy and, at several points, out-and-out horror. It’s classic Guillermo Del Toro in that sense, blending genres to create something distinctly different and visually spectacular.

Set in 1944 Spain, during the time of General Franco’s brutal dictatorship, Pan’s Labyrinth centres around Ofelia, a young girl with a fascination for fairytales who, along with her pregnant and sickly mother Carmen is set to live with her new stepfather Vidal.

One night, Ofelia encounters a faun – a half-human, half-goat being – who convinces her she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna. He sets her a challenge to complete three special tasks. Do so, and she will achieve immortality and return to her rightful kingdom where she will find her birth father.

As time passes, however, and she continues on with her tasks, Ofelia learns of the dark motives of Vidal. The son of a famed army commander, Vidal is on a mission to hunt down republican rebels with Ofelia witnessing, first-hand, his brutal and murderous tendencies. He eventually learns of Ofelia's mission and, determining her to be both delusional and a possible rebel, sets out to stop her in tracks.

With rebel forces beginning to rise and Ofelia on a quest to achieve immortality, things come to a bloody and dazzling head in what remains arguably Del Toro’s best film to date and one of the few mainstream movies to focus on any aspect of the Spanish civil war.