Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones
Have I Seen it Before: Never! Which has been a source of some exasperation in my house over the years. I’m not against subtitles in a film, but I just never seem to be in the mood to have to read a film. Likely a symptom of most often being distracted by other devices whenever I take in a film. Now, I’m jonesing for a bit of subtitles, and it is time to ride that wave straight through the labyrinth.
Did I Like It: Yes, and there was never any reason to doubt that was where I was going to land on the film. del Toro doesn’t know how to make a bad film. I’ve always enjoyed whatever trip he wanted to take us down. Those trips are always surprising, and not just visually.
On spec, I thought this film was going to be far weirder, ultimately more labyrinthine. That’s what I get for trusting a title like some kind of chump. There are visual flourishes of great, slightly mad fantasy aplenty, and while some of those images became iconic after the fact, there are still plenty more that will keep the uninitiated on their toes. Much of the CGI ages poorly in the extreme, especially the tiny fairy that first introduces Ofelia (Baquero) to the notion that the world might be far stranger than it initially may have seemed. Is it even worth noting CGI from 15 years ago doesn’t hold up? The moment the render is complete, any computer-animated element starts aging like a new car. That’s a minor complaint, especially when many of the costumes and makeup worn by Doug Jones are truly mesmerizing.
But that’s not even what the film is about! It’s about a scared young girl living in an objectively scary situation, and the monsters are about the only thing that will help her, regardless of whether they’re real or not.