PAN'S LABYRINTH (2006) Guillermo del Toro

This fantastic duel of the harshness of reality (just as future dictator Franco takes over Spain in a cruel civil war) and the duplicity of fantasy (which mirrors the real world with more imagination and cruelty) confronts a little girl with the worst step-father ever, fairies, a mandrake root, a faun that seems more like a minotaur and one of the most horrific creations: a dantesque "feast" monster that sticks eyeballs in the palms of his hands so that he can see what he is about to devour. This is the definition of hallucination, and a true childhood nightmare to match a world in chaos.