In the waning days of the Spanish Civil War, young Ofelia moves with her pregnant mother to a remote outpost commanded by her cruel stepfather, Captain Vidal. Surrounded by war and decay, Ofelia finds herself disconnected from the brutal adult world. One night, while exploring the forest near the military camp, she stumbles upon a crumbling labyrinth hidden beneath ancient trees. Inside, she meets a faun — a mysterious and ancient creature — who tells her that she is the lost daughter of the underground realm, a magical kingdom where time stands still.
To prove her royal identity, Ofelia must complete three perilous tasks before the next full moon. The first leads her into the den of a grotesque toad beneath the roots of a dying fig tree. Braving filth, fear, and suffocation, she retrieves a golden key hidden in the toad’s belly. The second challenge is far more terrifying: she enters the lair of the Pale Man, a child-eating monster who sits motionless at a banquet table. Ignoring warnings, Ofelia eats a single grape, waking the monster. She escapes — barely — with her life and a sacred dagger needed for the final trial.
As Ofelia navigates her dark fairy tale, the real world grows even more violent. Captain Vidal becomes increasingly ruthless, hunting down rebels hiding in the woods and treating Ofelia’s mother with cold indifference. Ofelia turns to the faun for comfort, but his loyalty seems uncertain. The faun warns her that the last task will demand a sacrifice: the innocent blood of another. As the lines between fantasy and reality blur, Ofelia realizes that her actions in the real world shape the outcome of the magical one. She must choose: blind obedience or defiant compassion.
In the haunting climax, Ofelia defies the faun’s final command, refusing to harm her newborn brother even when it means losing her place in the magical kingdom. Fleeing with the baby through the labyrinth, she is shot by Captain Vidal. As her blood seeps into the stones, a portal opens. In her final breath, she is reunited with her true parents — the king and queen of the underworld — in a world untouched by cruelty. The faun bows to her spirit. Ofelia’s body remains in the mortal world, cradled in silence, but her soul is finally home. In death, she becomes eternal — a quiet reminder that true nobility lies not in blood, but in choice.
