100 Greatest Horror Movies Of All Time
9. Pan’s Labyrinth
Crawling out of the darkest recesses of Guillermo del Toro’s mind, Pan’s Labyrinth might not be a horror movie in the traditional sense, but the dark fantasy not only reaches deep into the well of influences that have manifested throughout del Toro’s career - from B-movie monsters to the twisted nature of fairy tales - but also brings scares in how it mixes those story book scares with real-life horrors to mesmerising effect.
It’s horror in the imagery of the Pale Man and other gruesome creatures that inhabit the underworld, but it’s even scarier in its depiction of the Franco regime, and the very human evil of Captain Vidal. It crafts spooks in the creak of the floorboards, the design of its world, and how it plays on the enchanting fairytales of our youth to scare children and adults alike.
A beautiful movie with strong messaging, it represents the zenith of del Toro’s career, and in 2018 it remains every bit as relevant and evocative as it did upon release. Much like the stories it takes influence from, the themes, and the frightening nature of what humanity is capable of, are timeless.
[JH]