The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo Del Toro, 2001)

The Devil’s Backbone was made in 2001 by director Guillermo Del Toro. The film follows a young boy, Carlito (Fernando Tielve) who has been brought to an asylum for children during the Spanish Civil War. However, whilst there, he begins to notice strange occurrences, and eventually comes to the realisitation that the place is haunted.

You can tell that the film is made by Del Toro due to certain events and aspects of the film that are similar to things that happen in his other ones. For example, the film revolves around an old and abandoned building where its inhabitants learn from visions of spirits that some characters are hiding secrets from their past. The plot of Crimson Peak (Guillermo Del Toro, 2015) can be described in the same way.

The film begins a flashback, intriguing the audience and establishing the mystery element of the film.The first act follows Carlito being brought to the asylum, and the rest of the first act follows how he interacts with the other children there, how he discovers the ghost, and subtle hints are made to foreshadow events that occur later on in the film. The second act is the consequences of the ghosts existence, and the buildup of tension between the adults. These tensions amount in the final act, and that’s also when all of the previous foreshadowing/hints come into play.

The film holds a special place in Guillermo Del Toro’s career as a director. Before this film he had directed one film by a studio, which was not received well by audiences. So, Toro invested into his own project, The Devil’s Backbone, which established him as a clever, unique, and talented director, who in modern day is an instantly recognisable “Titan of terror” in the horror genre.

The ghost in the cellar. Unlike most horror films, the ghost in The Devils Backbone serves as a plot device to progress the story, not just create cheap scares.

I personally really liked the film. Whilst I was not overly impressed with the slow first act, I was completely engaged to the story thorough out the rest of the film, when tensions amount and events start to occur. The film is cemented as a violent, grim, mystery that is made unique by its fantasy and horror elements.

I rate The Devil’s Backbone ★★★★!