Incredibly creepy, Labyrinth is a classic 80s film

The 1980s was one of the most influential periods for the film industry. Classical movies seem to resurface the most from the ’80s, especially the movie Labyrinth. Audio clips from the movie have trended across social media platforms recently, bringing more attention to this movie. 

Labyrinth was made in 1986, and was directed by Jim Henson. The main storyline of this movie begins with 16-year-old Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly, having an active imagination in fairytale stories. 

One night she’s told by her parents to babysit her baby brother Toby, played by Toby Froud, and gets exhausted from his crying. She then sacrifices her brother to the Goblin King, played by David Bowie. Not realizing what would happen, she then realizes her brother is gone. Begging the Goblin King to bring him back, he tells Sarah she has 13 hours to solve a labyrinth to save her brother.

David Bowie making a big appearance in the film is a large part of why the film is so iconic, as he contributes to the movie’s soundtrack. The main soundtrack that trends over TikTok is “Magic Dance” sung by David Bowie. The soundtrack is good and very reminiscent of the 80’s. The only song unbearable to listen to would be the track “Within you,” as it’s a very slow-moving song that feels as if it will never end. 

Although the movie provides an entertaining plot, it can come off as creepy to some. The goblins in the film are played by puppets in costumes, with effects added in order to bring them to life. This allows it to appear fake, and is very unpleasant each time a goblin appears on the screen. 

Sarah was a very irritating character at the beginning. Her dressing up in a Shakespeare dress and rehearsing lines in a park is so painfully corny that it hurts to watch. Her sudden switch from hating her brother to regretting her decision of surrendering him to the Goblin King is another factor of why she is a hated character in the storyline. The only satisfactory event she brought to the film was her character development through the journey of solving the labyrinth. 

A very unusual scene is when Sarah eats the poisoned apple and falls into a hallucination of herself in a ball gown at a party where she comes across the Goblin King. They then dance together for a period of time until she runs away from him and then reawakes from the hallucination. 

Making it so unusual is the connection that was formed between Sarah and the Goblin King. Viewers conclude that the Goblin King experienced romantic feelings for Sarah, as presented in the original novel. It comes off as unsettling and confusing and seems wrong when comparing the age difference of the actors. But this ballroom scene is iconic to the film itself despite these speculations.

David Bowie gave his best performance in this classical film, and no actor could have played the Goblin King as well as he did. The contribution of his musical touch is also what creates the well-known reputation that Labyrinth has. Without David Bowie, the movie would not be as well known and favorable as it is today.

If you love binging old movies from the 80s, this definitely should be on your watch list. It’s a film based on the original Labyrinth book, written by Kate Mosse. It’s a family-friendly movie that is entertaining, but also creepy at times.