2001 ‘El espinazo del diablo’ Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Spain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.
Das Rückgrat des Teufels, Djevelens ryggrad, Ďáblova páteř, La spina del diavolo, L'Échine du diable, Nas Costas do Diabo, Kręgosłup diabła, Хребет дьявола, Princ bez království, Ördöggerinc, 鬼童院, デビルズ・バックボーン, Şeytanın Bel Kemiği, ילדים של אף אחד, A Espinha do Diabo, 악마의 등뼈, Хребет диявола, 神鬼第六感2:魔鬼之心, Diablova chrbtica, Velnio stuburas, Гръбнакът на дявола, Xương Quỷ, Στη ράχη του διαβόλου, เด็กผีวิญญาณพยาบาท
USA
Telluride Film Festival
Canada
Toronto International Film Festival
Greece
Athens Film Festival
Germany16
München Fantasy Filmfest
Russian Federation
Spain12
MexicoB
UK15
France12
PortugalM/12
Canada
France
Germany
Greece
Mexico
Portugal
Russian Federation
Spain
UK
USA
Thought this was more captivating and unsettling than it was scary. I’m also not super squeamish but this has some moments that are...so vivid. Extremely well written, specifically the way things wrapped up. I know this is nitpicky but I’m super annoying when it comes to how music is used in film, specifically when it’s overused. This is a prime example of that in that I think a lot of the “scary” scenes here could have been so much scarier had they toned down the score and let us BE there with the character. Like we get it, strings section! I don’t know! Small complaint, great movie. This Guillermo guy....he’s got a thing for water!
A tragic dark tale! A little slow at times but very well made. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. I was entertained and impressed by the movie though I probably wouldn’t watch it again because it is so depressing. It has nice gore effects. Extremely dark for a movie that most of the characters are kids. If you are a Guillermo dele Toro fan it is a must see! I had to rent it on Fandango.
As keepers of the land we so often become fixated on finding the ghosts who look like ghosts that we overlook the ghosts who look like us, yet while one haunts the grounds as an historical presence the other does as a potentiality. Trauma is a past force that lingers past death and demands the acknowledgement of those in the present, but in reconciling that and ignoring ourselves we ignore the trauma of our own living. Healing the former is easier: ghosts tell you exactly what they need to move on. The living? Are prone to lying. Sometimes they don't even know they're dead.
What is a Ghost?
Am impeccably crafted political allegory ghost story... seeped in sun-soaked gothic atmos, humanism, and saccharine revenge.
Last night I popped in Pan’s Labyrinth for the first time in ages and I couldn’t pass up a revisit of The Devil’s Backbone—after all these years it still packs the same wallop it did when idiot me saw it in the early 2000’s... it might even be more effective now. Honestly I don’t have much else to offer about this movie that hasn’t been more eloquently said by folks way more talented than me, so I’ll just say this intelligent wartime portrait is both beautiful and harrowing... stacked with symbolism, masterful atmos composition, writing that exudes humanity, and one of my all time favorite images in…
Del Toro is unique. He takes the horrors of war, the depravity inherent in human beings, the fate of the innocent and turns them into fairy tales in which even the sunny days are ruled by darkness. The whole thing is carried by tragic music and melancholic, graceful visuals.
A calm and sad movie.
An elegant, alluring & sumptuous poetry from Guillermo del Toro, The Devil's Backbone is crafted with remarkable care, told with great composure, and brims with endless passion to finish as one of the most enchanting works of its genre. Gorgeously rendered, meticulously detailed & uplifted by sincere performances, it also paints a fascinating portrait of childhood in an era marred by war & violence.
Set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, the story follows a young boy who arrives at an orphanage in the middle of nowhere but is having trouble adjusting to the new environment. To worsen his situation, he is constantly bullied by another boy and discovers that the whole place is haunted. But after managing to forge an unlikely…
Not really into horrors where kids are the leading characters but loved this one. Marvelous direction from Guillermo del Toro. Takes its time slowly at the beginning to build the plot up but the reveal behind the ghost was worth the wait. The kids were compelling enough to make me root for them. None of them ever came off as annoying thankfully. Jacinto is one of the most despicable horror villains I've seen in a while. Ultimately a satisfying revenge horror film.
First of all this has got to be one of my favorite poster's ever. It's absolutely amazing. Can someone hook me up with a link to where I can buy it?
As far as the movie goes, del Toro has once again created a brilliant atmospheric fantasy world with a great ghost story attached to it.
I am so ready for Crimson Peak!
i know it’s kind of silly for me to seek out horror that comforts me, but sometimes it’s nice to imagine that forces stronger than i am, powerful in ways i’m not, from whom i wouldn’t be safe were i their enemy, are instead pushing back against the fascist powers and principalities of this world. i don’t know. i like stories that are kind to vulnerable people, and so i like stories kind to ghosts. kind, too, to a bomb conscious enough to try to betray her cruel mission, desperately keeping herself alive just to keep children safe.
i am forever grateful that del toro films are so deeply reverent in the face of death, deaths, and their consequences.
Criterion Collection Spine #666
(Foreign language film)
A young Spanish boy unlocks the horrific past of an all boys orphanage he is abandoned at.
"What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber."
I was surprised to see just how similar Director Guillermo del Toro's The Devil’s Backbone was to his later film 'Pan's Labyrinth', just with it being about a little boy instead of a girl. But with comparing the two, I would say 'Pan's Labyrinth' is a far better film with its gothic fantasy elements, over…
SHOCKtober Day 25 of 31
Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish Civil War fable, The Devil’s Backbone, which ostensibly operates as a sister-film to his Oscar-winning 2006 fantasy, Pan’s Labyrinth, is a gothic ghost story of revenge that uses the backdrop of war to metaphorically tackle themes of freedom and revolt against corruption and fascist tyranny.
Carlos (Fernando Tielve in a dignified debut) arrives at the remote Santa Lucia orphanage, where Dr. Casares (Cronos star Federico Luppi) and Carmen (Pedro Almodóvar regular Marisa Paredes) shelter children of the republican militia. The parentless innocent of a father who perished fighting against the nationalists, Carlos unsteadily ventures to assimilate to his environs, the new lifestyle, and to the school’s bullies when he encounters the…
