I have a whole personal movie list which I like to call my Kick-in-the-Ass list. Its named as such because its mostly composed of older movies I find to be so great that I want to kick myself in the ass for not seeing them sooner. After watching Guillermo Del Toro's 2001 Spanish Gothic ghost story, The Devil's Backbone, I'm thinking this list may have a new addition.
In the introduction for its recently-released Criterion edition, Del Toro states The Devil's Backbone, along with 2006's Pan's Labyrinth are his 2 favorite movies he's made. He also explains that the two are meant to be seen together and once I was finished watching The Devil's Backbone his reasons were abundantly clear as the movies are essentially siblings from the same fantastic bloodline -- The Devil's Backbone being the brother and Pan's Labyrinth its younger sister.
Like Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone is a period piece. The latter takes place at the tail-end of the Spanish Civil War and centers on Carlos, an unwitting orphan dumped in a worn-down rural orphanage without so much as a goodbye and promptly crammed into the pecking order of the resident orphans. Running the establishment is Carmen, a tired revolutionary widow with her late husband's friend, the kindly Dr. Casares (played by Federico Luppi, who Del Toro's more devout fans may recognize from his 1993 debut, Cronos as well as from Pan's Labyrinth.) Rounding out the staff are the shifty former-orphan-turned-groundskeeper Jacinto and his long-suffering girlfriend, Conchita.
The secrets and questions begin stacking up almost immediately, starting with the defused yet still ominous, mammoth and ever-present bomb that resides in the orphanage's courtyard as well as the mystery of the safe. Unquestionably, the most important enigma is the identity of the shadowy figure that always seems to be right behind Carlos at every turn.
And the character in question has all the earmarks of a classic Del Toro character -- the darkly beautiful yet astonishingly horrific character design. And what would one of these amazing Del Toro creatures be without a dash of sadness? This sorrow incidentally, which The Devil's Backbone serves up in mass abundance for its third act and helps pay off handsomely for a thoroughly satisfying ending. Without giving too much away I'll just say The Devil's Backbone does for ghosts what Pan's Labyrinth did for fairies.
If you prefer your ghost or horror stories (which The Devil's Backbone doesn't quite entirely feel like) without a steady barrage of cheap scares, this movie may be for the thing for you, provided you don't have a gripe with subtitles. While Guillermo Del Toro may be known more for his Lovecraftian science fiction and action fare like the Hellboy movies, Blade II and this summer's insanely-entertaining Pacific Rim, its almost too easy to be unaware of his horror films on his resume. But much like Santi, the masterfully-created ghost from The Devil's Backbone, Del Toro's horror movies are most definitely there, just waiting for you to turn around...
The secrets and questions begin stacking up almost immediately, starting with the defused yet still ominous, mammoth and ever-present bomb that resides in the orphanage's courtyard as well as the mystery of the safe. Unquestionably, the most important enigma is the identity of the shadowy figure that always seems to be right behind Carlos at every turn.
And the character in question has all the earmarks of a classic Del Toro character -- the darkly beautiful yet astonishingly horrific character design. And what would one of these amazing Del Toro creatures be without a dash of sadness? This sorrow incidentally, which The Devil's Backbone serves up in mass abundance for its third act and helps pay off handsomely for a thoroughly satisfying ending. Without giving too much away I'll just say The Devil's Backbone does for ghosts what Pan's Labyrinth did for fairies.
If you prefer your ghost or horror stories (which The Devil's Backbone doesn't quite entirely feel like) without a steady barrage of cheap scares, this movie may be for the thing for you, provided you don't have a gripe with subtitles. While Guillermo Del Toro may be known more for his Lovecraftian science fiction and action fare like the Hellboy movies, Blade II and this summer's insanely-entertaining Pacific Rim, its almost too easy to be unaware of his horror films on his resume. But much like Santi, the masterfully-created ghost from The Devil's Backbone, Del Toro's horror movies are most definitely there, just waiting for you to turn around...
-Mike
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