Reflects the director's deep and dark soul

Rating: Null/10 (9 October 2009)

The Hellboy movies and Blade II all carry the unmistakable Guillermo del Toro visual stamp, but Pan's Labyrinth seems to be the flick that most reflect his deep, dark soul. I've been obsessed with this movie since first viewing it on a battery operated DVD player in the midst of a power failure blackout, which turned out to be the perfect environs for this disturbing anti-fantasy classic. The DVD commentary clarifies a bit as to whether the little girl playing the lead is really piercing the fabric of myth, or if she's just living out an escapist fantasy to escape from her epically grim reality - but much is still left open to the viewer's interpretation.
Despite the subtitles (rough on those of us with the attention span of a gnat on meth), this movie sucked me in like no other I can recall in recent memory. It's astounding and thought provoking - and, oh yeah, a couple of scenes are scary as all getout! That creepy critter that holds its eyeballs in its hands freaked me out so much, I shouted out loud the first time he went all del Toro!