The monsters are on the inside.
Surprised to discover that this is the most mature, psychologically and thematically complex film Del Toro has ever made. A darkly layered noir that's both a bruising throwback and ravishingly modern in its cinematic style.
Captures the fear, anger and angst of decaying romance in a minimalist style that is both understated and exhilarating; fresh and nostalgic in its straight-forwardness.
I worked on this film for several years, both in the camera crew and editing room. I've watched it dozens of times. I know it inside out. Watching it again still feels like the first time. Everything new. It knocks me out. It's a masterpiece.
Is this movie so eerie in spite or because of the occasionally stilted acting by its entirely young cast? Something about their curiously obvious line readings makes the film's descent into madness all the more terrifying. The lingering shots on the unnamed children watching, thinking (or not thinking), taking in the world and rising conflict between the film's leads are haunting. The moment of Simon staring into the dreadful abyss - the pig's head on a spike - as the…
