Cinematic treatment of magic, supernatural, impossible physics as narrative reality — not dream or delusion. Differs from sci-fi: requires no scientific rationale.
Fantastical Cinema operates on set and in editing according to a simple rule: the impossible is treated as the everyday. You film a character walking through a wall with the same camera certainty as one opening a door. No transitions, no explanations, no trickery — simply: it is there, it is happening, period. This fundamentally distinguishes Fantastical Cinema from Science Fiction, where you always have to build a bridge: a device, a technology, a scientific logic. Not here. The magic is, it needs no justification.
Practically, this means your lighting, your focal length, your movement remain constant when the fantastical occurs. It's a mistake to visually signal it — with slow-mo, with bokeh shifts, with warming colors. That's operatic kitsch. Instead, you need the full presence of the location. If a character suddenly appears twice in a room, you film both positions in real-time, without gimmick. The viewer accepts the rule if you yourself take it seriously — if the camera doesn't seem surprised.
The problem arises in post-production: VFX supervisors and colorists often want to "mark" the fantastical. Resist this. A fleeting, spectral figure doesn't necessarily need desaturated colors or a glow. It can look completely normal — and thus become more uncanny. Guillermo del Toro understands this: his creatures are present, lit like actors, integrated like props. The light doesn't say "look, this is magical," the light says "this is real, accept it."
Distinction from related genres: Science Fiction explains (futuristic technology), Supernatural establishes rules (ghosts have these properties), Fantastical Cinema simply asserts. The supernatural is there, without a framing narrative, without a dream resolution, without psychological explanation. This certainty in narrative technique is the craft behind it. You need fewer technical tricks than in SF, but absolute clarity in image composition and timing for it. A sloppy cut, a hesitant camera — and the viewer senses the filmmaker's uncertainty and deserts.