The Motifs of Pan’s Labyrinth

Previously, I’ve written articles about another of del Toro’s films, The Shape of Water, and touched on his adaptations of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy series. But I’ve never written about my favorite Guillermo del Toro story, Pan’s Labyrinth. I believe it’s the perfect combination of del Toro’s stylistic and literary motifs. Massively inspired by fairy tales and myths, Pan’s Labyrinth follows the story of Ofelia, a girl who moves to a remote military outpost with her pregnant mother to join her new army captain stepfather. Soon after her arrival, Ofelia discovers a secret about herself and so begins her adventure.

Middle Earth on the Big Screen—A Master Class in Fantasy Storytelling

Though I started my journey into the world of Tolkien as brought to life by Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh late in the game (2016), I am now obsessed. In this article, I will expound on a few of the reasons why.

The Gothic Stories of Angela Carter

 Anticipation is the greater part of pleasure

The Bloody Chamber (or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories) is a collection of short Gothic novels by English writer Angela Carter. She bases the stories on fairy tales, especially the folk tales of French collector Charles Perrault, whose prose Carter translated beforehand. Carter rewrites the plots of famous fairy tales in a unique style. This article contains a few spoilers.

Fear, Chaos and Pain: The Rise of a Hero

Considered as one of the greatest trilogies of all time by many, The Dark Knight Trilogy by Christopher Nolan chronicles Bruce Wayne’s journey from vengeance into heroism. Each installment carries a theme that pervades the lives of all its characters.

“I See Dead People”: Viewing The Sixth Sense

Aside from the comedy, there is only one film genre determined by the response it intends to elicit from the audience: the scary movie. These films terrify the viewer while not placing them in any real danger. They can be more suspenseful than gory when the story involves ghosts, and The Sixth Sense is a prime example. It achieves a thrilling effect on the audience through expected genre tropes and unexpected storytelling details.

Heart vs Stomach in Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House

 Based on Shirley Jackson’s novel of the same name, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House uses seven main characters to tell the story of how a house haunts the lives of the Craine family to keep itself standing. This article contains spoilers for all its twists, so read at your own discretion.

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Skeleton Key

I am not into horror films, but one sticks with me, because it has such an incredible twist at the end that makes me ponder the realities we invent for ourselves.

Happy Hauntings: The Magic of Walt Disney’s Haunted Mansion

“When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker, where the air is deathly still — that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!”

Many years ago in the Victorian Era, the Louisiana located Gracey Mansion was alive with parties and guests, with love and hope. Wealthy landowner Edward Gracey was in love with Elizabeth Henshaw and asked her hand in marriage. At a grand fete Gracey proposes and Elizabeth sends a note with her response, apparently rebuffing a love he thought they shared. Finding her body after she takes her life with poison throws him into turmoil. He ultimately decides he cannot face life without her, and hangs himself in his garden atrium. And so the Gracey manor fell into disrepair, until a hundred years later when a descendant of the Gracey family who desires to sell the home contact a couple involved in Real Estate, Mr. and Mrs. Evers. Their own marriage is on some rocky ground due to long work hours, Mr. and Mrs. Evers along with their two children, stop at the house on the way out of town for vacation.

The Scarlet Letter: A Past That Haunts

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the most popular novels in American literature. Hawthorne is wordy, but his lengthy descriptions help construct the key symbolic additions to his plot and characters.

Obsession or Love: Laura

What’s the difference between love and obsession? How can you tell if you’re in the throes of one versus the other? Can obsession become love? Can love become obsession?