Pan's Labyrinth: The History of the Pale Man | Horror History

ENTER THE LABYRINTH. The Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth is one of the most terrifying and enigmatic creatures in modern cinema, a nightmarish figure who has haunted audiences since his first appearance. Unlike other monsters that rely on brute force or sheer terror, the Pale Man’s horror lies in his eerie silence, unsettling appearance, and the dark symbolism he embodies.

In this video, I’ll be diving into the DISTURBING and SYMBOLIC nature of the Pale Man, unraveling the link between The Pale Man and fascism, and finally solving the mystery that is Pan’s Labyrinth.

Chapters
0:00 The Origins of The Pale Man
1:06 Intro
3:38 The Underground Realm and Princess Moanna
5:34 Sponsored by Helix Sleep
7:05 The Symbolism of The Pale Man's Dinner
10:24 Similarities Between The Pale Man and Vidal
14:10 Disobedience as a Virtue
17:53 Ofelia's Escape From the Pale Man
19:29 The Fate of Vidal and the Resistance

#panslabyrinth #paleman #guillermodeltoro

About Horror History
Horror History is a series that analyses specific characters, monsters, places or events in the fictional worlds of your favorite horror franchises.

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Credits
✏️ Writer - Zac Morris
🎵 Original Music - Jimmy Roman (© CZsWorld)

CZsWorld is a horror film channel by writer-director Zac Morris. New horror videos every week. Remember to turn on deathbell notifications so you don't miss a video!

This video is sponsored.

⚠ Disclaimer: This is a documentary film analyzing a fictional work of art for educational purposes. All actions seen in the video are performed by protagonists and should not be taken as real life footage. All stunts, effects and dialogue are performed by paid actors and all accounts are for the purposes of education, documentary and art.

[Xeorboom]

the fact that The Paleman only appeared in one scene but is the most memorable and iconic character just shows how great Guellimo's characters are!

[AjaAkata]

Shout out to Doug Jones for being THE character actor. He doesn't get enough recognition. 🖤🤙🏾

[savagegardenrox]

Doug Jones, who played both El Fauno and The Pale Man, is such a genuinely kind man. I had the opportunity to spend several hours with him once, when I was working at an independent movie theater owned by The California Independent Film Festival. The theater was hosting a sci-fi event Doug was one of the celebrity guests, along with Julie Adams, who played the female lead in Creature From the Black Lagoon. While Ms. Adams was quite old and spent the evening mostly resting, Doug was incredibly open to chatting with me (though I tried to keep it to a minimum, so as not to be rude or irritating). He posed for a few pictures with me, since I didn't have money for an autographed print. I will always treasure the memory of the evening I was able to spend just socializing with this man who made several key moments of my childhood (Hocus Pocus and Buffy)

[lolanola]

Rather than the fruit from the table representing the Apple that Adam and Eve ate, it felt more to me like it was referencing the idea that you should never eat what a Faerie offers you; for if you do, you will never be able to leave the Fae's world. You could say that's true for this movie, where "never leaving" is quite literal; she can't leave because she'd get eaten. This feels more purposeful to me because of the Fairytale themes and the Fae imagery

[KeyTheDolll]

Finally! Pan’s Labyrinth is one of my comfort movies!

[_vitlopo_]

The two things i noticed are that's 1. Those shoes that are left from children resemble shoes left in nazis concetration camps, what could be another symbol of evil in pale man and his mirror version who is Vidal
2. Ofelia is a name of a shaekspir character who was also a girl that died young
Sry for my english if something is illogical

[cookiecomments]

The pale man has a similar vibe to my cat when it comes to food

[skullslace]

Pan's labyrinth is such a tough movie to watch. I love Guillermo's works, especially his dedication to practical effects and not overusing cgi. The pale man is absolutely the stuff of nightmares.and the pale baby is going to haunt me now, thank you very much.

[dainapolchow]

The nose scene is what terrified me the most. Still haunts me.

[smashedmelon]

Honestly if I saw a buffet of sweets and saw that thing sitting on table, I'm definitely not touching anything on that table

[micheledeetlefs]

GDT recently produced a novelization of Pan's Labyrinth. I strongly encourage you to get a copy. It will fill in a lot of the blanks that you seem to be missing. Also, it reveals that there is more backstory to the Pale Man than you realize. In fact, virtually everything has a backstory, from the mill itself, to the Captain's razor and watch (which, by the way, is a POCKET watch, not a stopwatch.) It's an incredibly entertaining read and it absolutely fascinating fairy tale on its own right.

[Wolfbane]

I always thought the Pale Man was inspired by the Yokai Tenome. Who was a blind old man and was attacked by some thugs on his way home. As he lay dying he proclaimed "If only I had eyes so I could see who attacked me!" He was reborn as a Tenome that now lurks along pathways at night, attacking anyone he comes across. Using his eyes on his hands to see if he finally got his attackers.

[Maison]

The moment with the glass bottle was supposedly inspired by a real fight del Toro witnessed where a person was repeatedly hit with one and it didn't break

[gabrielafonseca]

I also can't keep noticing the Pale Man puts his eyes in what appears to be Christ like wounds on the palms of his hands

[MalO.ver..x]

What I love about the ending of Pan's Labyrinth is the same thing I love about the ending in Inception: in the end, it doesn't matter if it's real or not. The protagonist finally seems to be where they want to be, i.e. a place they are at peace at.

[ianmacfarlane]

(16:00)
Or, Ofelia picks the correct door because she is Moanna, the missing Princess of the Underworld.

[Spectre]

When I was a kid I saw the pale man scene and it terrified me.

[scionixx]

Bro, I got so mad when she ate that food. The fairy even tried to stop her and she just slapped it away which led to them getting eaten alive and it’s like she didn’t even care.

[smitha]

One of Mitch Mconnell’s earliest roles.

[zacharynaragon]

the most memorable monster from the movie being a pale male who is so greedy that he literally sees with his hands and attacking the girl for eating a single grape when he has that massive bounty is the most in your face symbolism I've ever seen