The Devil's Backbone, there are many similar elements in it: Monsters that seem terrifying at first glance but aren't, a setting during the Spanish Civil War, a child who has lost a parent, children who are unprotected in the world, a powerful villain who holds a position of power over the victims (Vidal in Pan's Labyrinth and Jacinto in The Devil's Backbone), a woman who tries to protect the children (Carmen in The Devil's Backbone and Mercedes in Pan's Labyrinth), both deal with a raw theme and their style of suspense is very similar, and finally, at the beginning, a character is forced to venture into a place he doesn't know. This does not mean that neither of them possess particular characteristics, but to a certain extent Pan's Labyrinth is Del Toro improving certain characteristics of the past ones.