Pan's Labyrinth

Proof there is always another chance, I missed the opportunity to see Pan's Labyrinth (2006) during its initial theatrical run, but the following year, a local theatre near my college showed it as part of a film course, so I did see it on the big screen. 

By that point, I had seen the movie on DVD and knew what to expect. My fellow film students, knowing only it was a Spanish-language fantasy movie about a little girl and fairies, were not as prepared as me.

Very much a modern cinematic fairy tale, Pan's Labyrinth is not, I repeat not, a children's movie. Between the eyeless monster that eats babies, the fairies that get their heads bitten off, and the looming faun that looks like he belongs on a Dimmu Borgir album cover, this is a dark, intense fairy tale.

The film is also arguably not a fantasy movie; all these wonderful and frightening creatures we witness could very well be just the products of the imagination of a little girl desperate to escape the real life horrors of war surrounding her. Sure, monsters and supernatural creatures can be bad, but they got nothing on a cruel stepfather and an oppressive political regime.

The Shape of Water

There's a quote attributed to Stuart Gordon, director of Re-Animator, about how in all those old horror movies, you'd see the monster carry the heroine off into the swamp, but you'd never get to see what he planned to do. That desire to depict what the monster had in mind partly served as the inspiration for the infamous head scene in his Lovecraft adaptation.

Director Guillermo del Toro takes a similar philosophy in a different direction in The Shape of Water (2017), which he co-wrote with Vanessa Taylor. His heroine, the mute Elisa (Sally Hawkins), and his slimy creature, referred to as the Asset (Doug Jones, naturally), indeed go all the way, a couple of times, but it's played as sweet and romantic instead of disgusting and creepy.

You may be wondering how a human woman and a mutant fish-man can engage in coitus. Don't worry. Elisa helpfully explains the process, through sign language and other hand gestures, to her best friend and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer), in a conversation that runs the gamut from stunned incredulity to curiosity to unwavering support. We should all have friends as cool and understanding as Zelda.