Devils Backbone (2001)

"A superior work! It is one of the absolute best movies you'll see this year!  Ain't It Cool News
"An elegant scare picture...  Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times
"Vastly more frightening and stylish than The Others.  Lou Lumenick, The New York Post

Editor's Note During the Spanish Civil War, newly orphaned Carlos is taken to a school for the children of those who died fighting against fascism. He is given the bed that formerly belonged to Santi, a boy who recently died during an attack in which a bomb dropped, landing in the school's courtyard undetonated, a reminder of impending danger. As the amputee headmistress (Marisa Paredes, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) and the embittered caretaker, Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), engage in a love affair, the headmistress' cuckolded husband, the impotent but benevolent school doctor (Frederico Luppi) sits by passively. Meanwhile, after Santi's ghost repeatedly reveals itself to Carlos, another student spooks Carlos with a dark secret about the boy's death. War surrounds the school, violence infests it from within, and Carlos sets out to avenge the death of Santi. Taking on themes such as the brutality of war and the loss of innocence, Guillermo del Toro's (MIMIC) film skillfully combines elements of war, gothic horror, melodrama, and adventure to create a work that functions as both a genre film and a politically resonant piece of nostalgia. THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE uses history as a means of transforming what would otherwise be a routine ghost story into a powerful and affecting statement.

	Eduardo Noriega
	Federico Luppi
	Fernando Tielve
	Inigo Garces
	Irene Visedo
	Marisa Paredes
	Antonio Trashorras - Writer
	David Munoz - Writer
	Guillermo del Toro - Director
	Guillermo del Toro - Writer
	Guillermo Navarro - Director of Photography
	Javier Navarette - Musical Score
	Luis De La Madrid - Editor
	Pedro Almodovar, et al. - Producer

Total Film
"...Del Toro keeps things tense and, most importantly, keeps you guessing....Del Toro has crafted a creepy, lyrical movie that surges between unspeakable brutality and heart-bruising sentiment..." 12/01/2001 p.101

Sight and Sound
"...THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE remains the work of a great stylist with a uniquely disturbing attraction to, and vision of, the frontier between life and death..." 12/01/2001 p.38-46

Box Office
"...Throughout, Del Toro has composed vivid and riveting images that he has combined with an engrossing story, and the impressive performances of the entire cast keep DEVIL'S BACKBONE unabatingly compelling..." 12/01/2001 p.58

Entertainment Weekly
"...Richly atmospheric....Del Toro builds excitement, dread, and melodrama in equal layers..." 12/07/2001 p.70

New York Times
"...Mr. Del Toro takes an almost sensuous delight in weaving aural and visual textures of fear....Mr. Del Toro provokes your screams and shudders, but he also earns your tears..." 11/21/2001 p.E13

Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie is richly atmospheric in its telling of a ghost story..." 01/20/2002 p.6

Washington Post 9 of 10
The air of sensuality is very much the film's operating style. Although the story includes damp cell - Desson Howe