Pan’s Labyrinth- A Twisted Tale

  Pan’s Labyrinth is a twisted, dark fairytale with hints of politics mixed in. This film is whimsical and odd. I enjoyed how there were darker elements, social issue awareness and even hints to other famous fairytales. 

    This film brings in horror aspects in multiple ways. One example is the eye-less monster. Not only was he grotesque to look at, the entire scene was uncomfortable and when he starts chasing Ofelia you are on the edge of your seat. There are also other elements of horror such as body horror when the captain beats the man to death or tortures the captured soldiers. 

    Some social issues that were brought to light were as follows: Probably the biggest issue the characters were facing was a fascist regime. I think this was definitely a warning about overly-powerful governments. There was also the issue of the captain and his toxic masculinity power trip. He bossed every female around in the movie and desperately wanted a son to carry on his legacy. He related his wife like a trophy to be looked at, belittled her for telling a story in front of their guests and made her travel while pregnant. He intimidates Ofelia and locks her away in the attic. And makes Mercedes do everything for him. 

    I noticed a few connections to other fairytales. When Ofelia crawls into the tree to look for the frog it is very similar to Alice in Wonderland when she goes down the rabbit hole in search of the white rabbit. They may have also been hinting at the Wizard of Oz when it comes to Ofelia’s  new shoes. When she draws the chalk door it reminded me of Beetlejuice when the main characters draw the door to go to the “other side”. 

    I enjoyed this film since it wasn’t your typical happy tale. It had just the right amount of special effects, horror and metaphors for me.

-Quinn


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