The Devil's Backbone

Dull ghost story with half-hearted commentary on the Spanish Civil War. The whole thing seems to exist to prop up a few nifty special effects and a vague sense of atmosphere. I struggled to maintain interest... the characters are bland, the scares entirely absent (unless you have a weak stomach for mildly gory bits), the story feels slapped together from fragments of ideas. There's a reveal that I suppose is meant to be a surprise twist, but it's pretty obvious from the first act. It's just really hard to care about what's going on, and there's not much going on anyway. Carlos approaches the ghost and then gets scared and runs away. Creepy Eli Roth-looking dude does something nasty. Repeat, repeat, repeat. While the craftsmanship is somewhat impressive, it's an empty experience, free of passion, wisdom or thrills.

I believe I am not far off when I said the director has done a masterpiece. The ambience of the movie is very carefully created, not too slow or too fast. The special effects are not overwhelming like most Hollywood movies. In fact they complement the story very well. The characters are well developed and given sufficient screen time to have us understand them, not know them. The movie is well driven by emotions from all the characters and the plot itself. Though not complex, the story is overly simplified. The film can be draggy at times.

Good acting and great visuals highlight this interesting yet bit of a slow moving film about a group of orphans. The film deals with different issues, from greed to revenge, and also has a few great action sequences, and some truly scary moments. Being only his third film as director, the film already carries Guillermo's stunning visual trademark. The child actors were very good.

Greetings from Lithuania. "The Devil's Backbone" (2001) is a well told story that centers on events in one orphanage home during the war in Spain. The story contains a bit of war, life of children in the orphanage house and some ghost story. The pacing of this movie is good. At running time 1 h 45 min i wasn't bored and it never dragged. The acting was good by all involved. The best job in this movie was made by director and set designed. Every scene is crafted very professionally, and settings are very well done. You really feel like you are in the period and in the place. Terrific settings. The story although wasn't really special. And by the way, it's not a horror movie by any means. This is simple ghost story set in real settings (sound a bit crazy). Overall, "The Devil's Backbone" is a good story well told. It's definitely worth seeing once - it's not shockingly good, but it's a compelling picture.

A stylish, atmospheric ghost story which, unlike so many recent examples of the genre, does not rely on any climactic twist for its punch. The chills and thrills are happily much more old-fashioned here, and quite a bit more bloodthirsty. The performances are universally excellent, and the music, cinematography, direction and visual effects are all first rate (the ghostly rendering of Santi – the "one who sighs" – is exceptionally good). Writer/director Guillermo Del Toro's screenplay is in an entirely different league to his 'Cronos' and 'Mimic'. Sure, it has a similar level of tension and fascination, but there's a much stronger thematic vein at work here. Viewers familiar with the history and politics of the Spanish Civil War will find it particularly rewarding, appreciating the story on a deeper metaphorical level. Others will just admire and enjoy this film for what it superficially is: a slick, good-looking and remarkably unsettling piece.

This film show us one interesting version of ghost definition. Good direction by Guillermo del Toro. Great performances by Eduardo Noriega as Jacinto, a role with much more psychology that at beginning appeared; Marisa Paredes and, of course, Federico Luppi. So believable Irene Visedo too. One of the best spanish film in the 2001 year.