The Devil's Backbone

2001 [SPANISH]

Action / Drama / Horror / Thriller

37
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 89% · 121 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 89% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.4/10 10 74991 75K

spanish civil war spain orphanage spanish civil war (1936-39) gothic horror ghost

Plot summary

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.

720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
991.35 MB
1280*694
Spanish 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   fr   de   hu   it   kr   ro   es  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 17
1.92 GB
1920*1040
Spanish 5.1
NR
Subtitles us   fr   de   hu   it   kr   ro   es  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 63

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by The_Void 8 / 10

A great ghost story!

I'm a massive fan of the horror genre, but I don't like ghost stories. To me, ghost stories are a poor manifestation of the genre. It's not the idea of ghosts that's the problem, it's the way the stories are presented; often dull, slow moving and uninteresting, and those are things that do not make a good movie. However, there is an exception to every rule; and this film is the case with that one. The Devil's Backbone is a mesmerising and inventive addition to the ghost story tradition. The film moves slowly, but that is a definite advantage to it. The slow pace allows us to get to know, and even care for the characters before the horror starts, and this makes the horror all the more potent when it does start. The Devil's Backbone has been touted as 'the Spanish Sixth Sense', and although this is unfair as this is hardly a bad film; I can see where that notion is coming from. The main difference between the two, however, and the reason why this film works and Shyamalan's doesn't is that the parts between the horror here aren't boring, are well acted and serve a purpose in that they allow us to get to know the characters; Shyamalan got too caught up in trying to make his twist work and the drama in-between caught the brunt of that, rendering the film boring.The film can't really be accurately described as a 'horror film', it's more of a drama come character study with horror elements. The horror elements are pronounced, as the ghost is the centrepiece of the story, but the film doesn't focus on them enough for it to be considered horror. Entwined within it's plot is a coming of age tale, a story of revenge and a nice little section on 'what is a ghost'. I like it when a film delves into it's subject material and attempts to give something of an explanation; Return of the Living Dead did it for zombies (albeit comically), and The Devil's Backbone does it here for ghosts. The coming of age side of the story is brought to life brilliantly by some sublime acting courtesy of the young cast. Entwined within the story are themes of the kids being thrust into a situation that requires them to grow up fast, and it also sees them dealing with themes of death and revenge. One thing you will instantly notice about this film is the fantastic cinematography. The film has a gritty style, but despite this it manages to come off looking crisp and clean. There are some shots that are incredibly beautiful. All shots with the ghost, which is one of the best crafted ever, come to mind immediately but also of note are the underwater sequences, the special effects and the capture of the location. The film is set in an orphanage somewhere the Spanish desert, and this location serves the movie magnificently. The fact that it's a day's walk away from the nearest town makes the film very isolated, which allows the horror more potency. Guillermo Del Toro is an obviously talented director. He has this film under his belt, along with Cronos (which I haven't yet seen, but have heard great things), but after that it's hit and miss. Blade 2 was a good film, and a refreshing one after the lackluster first part; but Mimic wasn't very good on the whole, despite some good moments. More recently he's gone on to direct Hellboy, which again I haven't seen but it looks like another fun film. I hope Del Toro makes a return to art soon, he has the talent and it would be a shame to lose him to 'decent' films.
Reviewed by underfire35 8 / 10

Better Than American Horror Films...

THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a Spanish language supernatural thriller. It consists of a haunted school for orphaned boys. Now, in an American film that would be all you get, a ghost running around scaring the young inhabitants of the gloomy building. That's it, and it would not be scary at all. It is to the credit that the makers of THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE present the actual ghost as the least frightening aspect of the film; he becomes, in fact, the moral center of a deeply complex story.In Spain, the year is 1939 and Franco's army is advancing towards the small village where the most notable landmark is an impotent bomb jutting out of the ground in the center of the town. A child, Carlos (Fernando Tielve), his father's life taken in the bloody civil war, finds refuge with the Leftist caretakers of the school. Not a good place to be around at that time. He finds himself under the wing of Prof. Casares (Fererico Luppi), a strange intellectual who fears the oncoming dirge of Franco's forces. There is also some intrigue involving the caretaker Jacinto (Edvardo Noriega) and the revolution's small supply of gold. Oh, right and there is a troubled spirit of one of the dead children creeping through the bowls of the school, uttering ominous warnings to young Carlos ("Many of you will die.")...It is one of the strongest elements of THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE that it does not become distracted by the ghost story, I mean what is one ghost compared to the very real fears of war, death, greed, abandonment, political persecution, abuse at the hands of adults, lust, and acceptance. A spirit cannot hurt us, it does not exist on the same plain of the living. His life has ended and he can no longer be troubled by the reality the characters face. A bullet or explosion wil not penetrate his flesh, he no longer feels pain. The boys who survive him are those who have to struggle for their small place on this earth.The film paints in detailed strokes and does not cut corners when it comes to the emotions involved in the plot. The characters are not pawns to be startled periodically by cats or loud noises, they just happen to occupy the same space with a sad and restless dead boy.The director, Guillermo Del Toro (CRONOS, MIMIC, the better-than-the-original-but-that-ain't-saying-much BLADE 2), handles the material very well, never losing sight of the story he has set out to tell. The metaphors he uses (the bomb, the pool, the contents of the jars) are rich and creative. Del Toro, along with his crew and actors, create moments of intense fear and unsettling action; the musical score, by Javier Navarette, is particularly effective. The film is dark and gloomy (perhaps overly so at times), but never succumbs to the easy answers in the shadows. As for the American films it will be compared to: THE OTHERS-not scary, THE RING-not scary, DARKNESS FALLS-not scary...THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is scary, complex and ultimately memorable.8/10.
Reviewed by blott2319-1 6 / 10

Good story aside from the ghost

I like most of the plot structure of The Devil's Backbone. It is a powerful film that does a good job of showing the struggle of these orphans during the Spanish Civil War, and the struggles of those who are running the orphanage. There are a number of endearing characters, and their frustrations felt quite genuine. It was easy to sympathize with them, and I found myself forgiving some of their misdeeds because of the awful situation that trapped them in this place. I could even see where the villain was coming from, and how he came to be this man (even if he was a bit over-the-top at times.) The kids were mostly strong actors, and Fernando Tielve in particular gave an emotional performance that I enjoyed as the new boy to the orphanage. Likewise, it's easy to like Federico Luppi as the loving caretaker and doctor in the orphanage. There are also some solid visual effects and makeup work that made the ghost look creepy.There's just one thing that stood out to me as a negative when watching The Devil's Backbone. I cannot understand why this is a ghost story. There is an intriguing drama going on with perfectly normal characters, and then there's a ghost. It is tacked on in the weirdest way, and never once feels like a natural part of the story. It made me think Guillermo del Toro was just testing the waters for what he would later do much more effectively in Pan's Labyrinth. That film blended the magical world into the story seamlessly, but The Devil's Backbone struggled to weave it together in a cohesive fashion. I've never been all that fond of ghost stories in the first place, so to see one grafted on like this lessened my enjoyment. I didn't even feel the scares were all that effective. I'm not sure if they were intending to make the film have a horror feel, but I could tell that there was nothing to fear from the ghost from the beginning. I still think The Devil's Backbone is an interesting film, and I appreciated most of the plot, I only wish it stuck to that main story and left the supernatural out.
Read more IMDb reviews

10 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment