Pan's Labyrinth(2006 / R)
"In 1944 fascist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again" (imdb.com)
Not really a horror movie. The most horrific elements of this film have to do with the brutal treatment of the spanish resistence fighters at the hands of the loyalists in the Spanish army. This is more brutal as a war movie than anything else. There is still plenty of creepy/eerie imagery in the fantastical parts of the film, but it's still not a horror movie. That being said I did enjoy the film for what it was. This is a visually stunning movie that well deserves the critical praise it's received.
All in all it was a good film, but I can't help but be a little dissapointed in the lack of more true horror elements. It's not what I expected and that did affect my enjoyment of the film to an extent. 4 Bruce Campbell heads is all I can muster...but that's nothing to sneeze at.
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