Four ghost stories drawn from Japanese folklore explore the interaction of people and the spirit world, with often dire consequences. The samurai who abandons his wife for another woman, the wood cutter who is saved by a mysterious woman in a winter wilderness, the blind musician who performs before a ghostly audience, and the man who sees a face in the cup of tea held in his hands, all reflect the trepidation with which mortals must walk when touching the world of ghosts.

Not just a vampire movie, this horror film is rife with witches, shape shifters and a host of evil Warriors of Darkness, who have remained at bay in a delicate balance with the Warriors of Light. Then a series of events upsets that balance, and a prophecy long dreaded may come to fruition, triggering an apocalyptic war.

During the Spanish Civil War, when the forces of Franco are systematically eliminating the Republicans, young Ofelia journeys with her mother to the distant countryside to join her stepfather, a sadistic captain in Franco's army. There, in her new home, Ofelia enters not only the horrors of the war but also an exquisite fantasy world of mazes, fauns, monsters, and three challenges, which she faces with courage and tenacity. Is this all in Ofelia's imagination, or is there truly a fantasy world in the stone labyrinth in the garden?