Image: Tequila Gang / Wb / Kobal / Shutterstock
Another film that does a tremendous job of seamlessly weaving genres together, Guillermo del Toro's
Pan's Labyrinth is surely up there among the greatest movies of the 2000s. Set in 1944 in civil war-torn Spain, the film tells the story of a 12-year-old girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), who disappears into a fantasy realm to escape the very real violence raging around her. There are some images and moments in this movie that will stick with you for a long time: the sinister figure of the faun, the creeping dread of the pale man, and the nightmarish reality of Ofelia's stepfather Capitán Vidal (Sergi López), whose brutal rule over his men and household makes him a genuinely unnerving antagonist.*