Pan’s Labyrinth, a Spanish fantasy movie, is about a young girl named Ofelia. She is forced to leave her home with her pregnant mom to go live with her cruel father. A faun tells her that she’s a princess who must perform certain tasks to meet the king, which is her real father. The minimal dialogue and the Javier Navarrete-composed music in this scene add to the suspense.

As Ofelia opens her fairy tales book, she is shown what tasks to perform. The image is displayed on the page while a soft piano and string music is played. As Ofelia considers the instructions, she hears a voiceover. The first instruction was “Use the Chalk to Trace a Door Anywhere in Your Room.” A very subtle sound of chalk scraping on her wall is heard as she closes the page. In a few more seconds, she appears and we hear her chalk squeaking and scraping her walls. This sound blends in with the soft strings music. “Once the front door has been opened, turn on the hourglass.” The chalk outline begins to bubble with a sizzling noise and a new door appears. Ofelia opens the heavy door with a loud sound. Here, the music intensifies to highlight Ofelia’s wonder. Strings, brass and percussion create a darker atmosphere by using haunting minor keys. Ofelia drops a chair to jump through the door and into this strange new place. The music stops. Ofelia spins the hourglass. The sand starts to fall through.

A strange sound, which sounds like it is coming from the ceiling or the air, can be heard as she starts walking. Audiences must listen to the sound casually, as we don’t know its origin. She looks at the hourglass again, and now the sound is amplified to make it more noticeable to remind her audience that she has a limited amount of time. The sound of a crackling fire is heard as she enters a dining room. She reaches the far end of table, looks upwards and jumps in fear. The windy sound is loud enough to scare her audience. In front of her, she sees a pale creature with eyeballs that are on a plate. She turns the plate to examine it, and when she does the eyeballs start making a goopy, sticky noise. Ofelia turns her attention to the wall, where there are paintings depicting the monster devouring and killing the children. In the background you can hear the sound of baby crying. The source of this sound is unclear, but it is likely that Ofelia has imagined it.

Ofelia lets out the fairies and they chirp, fluttering their wings. Ofelia’s key is for one lock on the wall. The key rings out loudly when she pulls it out, another example. As Ofelia tries out the locks, the metal slides together. The music begins again when she unlocks the lock with her key. Low brass plays long, slow chords. As she pushes her hand into the opening and pulls out the dagger, the music crescendos. Ofelia’s dagger makes a loud “shing!” sound when she touches it.

Ofelia turns and leaves. Dissonant music creates an uncomfortable feeling. Ofelia seems to be drawn towards the grapes at the table. The music reflects that with rapid crescendos as she stares. Ofelia begins munching on the grapes, causing a crunching sound. The music crescendos and becomes higher-pitched to warn the audience of a bad event. The piece abruptly ends in a staccato and sharp low brass sound, which is meant to mimic the bending of the hands of the monster as it wakes. The table’s wooden surface is tapped by his nails. As the monster breathes in slowly, he makes sharp staccato noises. He then puts his eyes through holes in his hand. Brass is loudest when he turns around. As the fairies attempt a distraction, the brass instruments remain loud. The sound of the brass instrument is haunting and low but also gives a feeling of panic or urgency by highlighting Ofelia’s situation. The sound of the monster ripping fairies’ heads off is next. This makes an incredibly splattering and ripping noise.

Ofelia runs and the monster follows her. The music has a suspenseful and intense feel. The sand is slipping out of the hourglass when the door is in sight. Ofelia screams “No!” as the door closes. The monster is still chasing her, but she manages to push herself through the door and draw a new one with chalk. As she leaves, the music becomes climactic and immediately stops with the closing of the door.

In summary, the combination of intense brass and string scores with uneasy sound effects and sweetening creates an atmosphere of suspense. The music in the film is a non-diegetic background score, while all the sound effects occur on-screen. The music can be ambient or orchestral. The silences also create an uneasy feeling, because they highlight the fact that Ofelia’s all alone.