An incredibly creative piece of cinema. It incorporates an amazing fantasy world with the realities of war. It gives its protagonist a way of surviving and continuing on with a life after she could have lost everything. The visuality is striking, creating a world like we've never seen. There is an amazing use of computer generated images. Everything in this film is in balance as it shifts between fantasy and the horrors of the civil war under Franco. Del Torro is a director of the first order. If you don't like him, try to realize that he takes chances and there are always naysayers out there who want to tear down that creativity. Imagine Stravinsky stopping after "The Rite of Spring" because the Philistines who are stuck in the past couldn't give it its due or at least have some optimism.

Don't let the fact that it is in Spanish throw you. This is a dark, moving and sometimes terrifying masterpiece of a film. Director Guilliemo Del Torro directs with briskness and deep understanding of the film. The film looks gorgeous, very beautiful in one scene, and quite Gothic in another. Another director I can think of that directs visually stunning films is Ridley Scott. The music score by Javier Navarette is haunting, poignant and beautiful. The script is very mysterious, suspenseful and genuinely moving at times, and there are some genuinely memorable characters, the idealistic protagonist, the brutal stepfather, the pregnant mother and the caring housemaid. Here is one of the few fantasies where the images stay with you forever. There are beautiful costumes and a stunning forest set, the labyrinth is very Gothic and dark, as is the wise and mysterious faun, and the war and torture scenes are unashamedly graphic. Another honourable mention should go to the monster that tricks children into eating his food when he is asleep, and then he wakes up and eats them. He was so terrifying, the very look of him, made my blood run cold. He is one of the most terrifying creatures I have ever seen in the history of film. All in all, a visually stunning and absolutely magnificent film, with a definite 10/10. Bethany Cox.

Guillermo del Toro's fantastic horror-cum-thriller is a film with an unwieldy subject matter. It strives to blend a period thriller involving the battle between Fascists and guerrillas with a Alice in Wonderland-type storyline involving a young girl becoming embroiled in a quest in a magical world. I didn't really care for the inclusion of the latter genre in this film; the fantastic elements felt half-written and clichéd, too obviously modelled on previous Hollywood fare and lacking in depth or interest; ironically, considering del Toro's independent background, these are the elements that feel too much like blockbuster fare; a triumph of special effects over substance.

The bits I'm talking about include the insect at the beginning, the fairies and Pan himself, whose camp mannerisms and riddle-strewn monologues were a little too much for me to bear. Thankfully, one of the film's fantastic moments makes up for these other weak bits: it's the centre-piece involving the utterly horrific Pale Monster, a monster with eyes in his hands. Hands down this is one of the scariest moments of cinema I've seen in my life and I loved every second of it; it's a shame del Toro couldn't reach this height with the rest of the magical stuff in the film.

The thriller plot is far more engaging, a familiar story of an evil man and the people in his household who obey him and secretly work against him with the rebels in the nearby woods. The baddie is played by Sergi Lopez, who steals every moment with a nuanced, understated performance that puts him up there in the ranks of top film villains. Lopez plays a man prone to violence and torture, and there are quite a few grisly scenes to be endured that will be no surprise to anyone who's seen the likes of BLADE II. The other cast members are also good; mainly the actors are unknown outside of Spain, and this works in the film's favour. The only exception is Doug Jones, playing Pan and the Pale Man; at this rate he's shaping up to be the new Lon Chaney.

Technically, del Toro puts as much work in here as in his other films; there's no faulting the effects, the cinematography or the music. It's all very effective as is the script and the atmosphere. I just wish some of the fantasy bits could have been handled better; I prefer to think that they take place only in the young heroine's mind, thus keeping the film a work of realism. It's much darker and more unsettling when viewed in this light.