Pan's Labyrinth is a magical cinematic feast for all us big kids who don't really want to grow up.

It is brought to us from the brilliant mind of writer/director Guillermo Del Toro the Mexican master filmmaker who first features were in his native Spanish tongue. He brought us the award winning vampire film Chronos and the spine tingling Devil's Backbone. He then ventured to Hollywood and gave us Mimic, the best of the Blade trilogy Blade 2 and the cinematic gem that is Hellboy.

It comes as no surprise that Del Toro spent years working in special effects and make up design before he started making films of his own, these skills are splashed all over the films he has given us.

I always look forward to a new film from Del Toro and from the first reports I read about this project, the more I couldn't wait to see it. Then as the films release date drew closer I started to feel I was not destined to see this film. It was just my luck that when I received the invite to the press screening I was away working in London and then unable to see it the day of it's general release. Now before I do actually get to my local cinema to see this film, I find myself reading amazing reviews of the film. People saying it's a "MASTERPIECE" and "THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR" and I found myself hoping that these were accurate and the film would meet all my expectations.

The lights went down and the screen lit up and for the next two hours I was completely saturated with the world of a young Spanish girl called Ofelia. The story takes place in Spain and the year is 1944 just after Franco's victory. Ofelia finds herself moving to the country with her mother to live with her new stepfather Captain Vidal. Her evil stepfather has the job of stamping out the Spanish freedom fighters and to hide herself from this dark time Ofelia retreats into her own imagination. She creates a fairytale in her mind to help shield her from her new evil father and the horrors which surround him.

Through the films wonderful photography, music and incredible performances from it's Spanish cast and the realised images and script from Del Toro's own mind this film is nothing less than perfect.

It is by far one of the best films I have ever seen! Now this is no kids film, it's magical, dark, twisted, beautiful and sometimes pure evil. I defy anyone not to like this film. DO NOT be put off by it being in Spanish it is a MUST SEE!!!

by Jay