Spain, 1944, during the Spanish Revolution. Young Ofelia’s (Ivana Baquero) pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) has just married the leader of the effort to suppress the resistance, Captain Vidal (Sergi López). Ofelia, obsessed with fantasy stories, finds herself in a real-life fairy tale when a faun (Doug Jones), recognizing her as the reincarnation of the king of the underworld’s daughter, gives her three tasks to complete before the full moon so she can reclaim her kingdom.
My sister Leslie, an avid horror fan, refused to watch the movie for years, thinking it was a children’s movie. (My response: who cares, it’s Guillermo del Toro!) I set her straight and made her watch it. Though the main character is a child, and the structure and plot of the film borrows heavily from mythology and fairy tales, it’s far from being for kids. It’s rated R, and fairly violent. Though many of the brutalities take place off-screen, like a man getting his gangrenous leg cut off with no anesthetic, it’s still pretty disturbing. There are still plenty of gory on-screen scenes, like when Vidal bashes in a man’s face with a bottle, as well as a scene when he has to sew up a gash in his own face with a needle and thread. Besides the violence, the scene with the Pale Man (also Doug Jones)is darn unnerving:
On the other hand, while it’s never sappy, there is a wondrous element. There are also sweet moments, like when Ofelia hugs the faun. The visual effects are amazing. It’s also compelling, moving, and masterfully told. I saw it first in the theatre, and I left feeling so energized I wanted to jump up and down. Check it out if you like a little blood with your fantasy.
GhoulieJoe 