The Devil's Backbone reviews
Review by on 26 Sep 2010
THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, much like many other of Del Toro’s signature films, tells two stories. The first of these is the story of a child, newly orphaned in the Spanish Civil war, who’s assigned to an orphanage isolated on the Spanish plains, and befriends a ghost. The second is the story unfolding all around this orphanage, the Spanish Civil war, and the effects on the Spanish populace. Typically of Del Toro, THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE entwines the stories of childhood fantasy and of the horrific world in which the Civil war forced the adults to live. The setting for this film is flawless; the costumes both accurate and unique, the echoing Orphanage surrounded on all sides by complete absence is the perfect location for a claustrophobic atmosphere, which Del Toro weaves into the fine performances of the cast, helping the unique storyline to capture the suspicion and superstition of the era. The characters are deep and genuine, and Del Toro captures the rivalry and companionship of young boys perfectly, drawing inspiration from Lord of the Flies. Tense and sinister use of sound makes for a thrilling film, with twists and turns melting perfectly into the uncompromising imagery and character exploration. THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE succeeds on all fronts with creating a harsh, yet youthful experience, exploring the lengths people are driven to in order to protect what they have worked for, and the terrible things we will do to survive, a must see.
Max Elgar
Max Elgar
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
A bleeding child is bound and dumped into a murky underground pool as a huge bomb stands unexploded in the courtyard of an isolated orphanage. So starts Guillermo Del Toro’s 2001 supernatural thriller THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, a chilling ghost story set against the background of the Spanish Civil war showing as part of the Film Festival’s Del Toro Season. We follow young Carlos (Fernando Tielve), a new arrival at this supposed sanctuary who unwittingly discovers that there is something very dark at the heart of his new home.
Displaying Del Toro’s idiosyncratic panache for combining the fantastical with the historical, THE DEVILS BACKBONE is one of his most accomplished works. He elegantly builds an unsettling atmosphere choosing creeping, cadaverous dread over startling shocks or explicit gore. The film never rushes itself, spending plenty of time developing well drawn and convincingly human characters, making it more believably effective when it unveils its more nightmarish horror elements.
The mostly young cast is exceptional but the true stand out is Eduardo Noriega’s Jacinto, a brilliantly composed portrait of brutal masculinity carrying a blemished moral compass. He is a disturbing precursor for the even more overtly sociopathic captain Vidal in Del Toro’s follow up film PANS LABYRINTH.
There are a few minor plot irritations at work during the film, especially regarding some very irrational character behavior regarding a pile of burning petrol cans. However these are minor flaws in an otherwise outstanding gothic thriller bathed in the pounding desert heat.
Liam Jack
Displaying Del Toro’s idiosyncratic panache for combining the fantastical with the historical, THE DEVILS BACKBONE is one of his most accomplished works. He elegantly builds an unsettling atmosphere choosing creeping, cadaverous dread over startling shocks or explicit gore. The film never rushes itself, spending plenty of time developing well drawn and convincingly human characters, making it more believably effective when it unveils its more nightmarish horror elements.
The mostly young cast is exceptional but the true stand out is Eduardo Noriega’s Jacinto, a brilliantly composed portrait of brutal masculinity carrying a blemished moral compass. He is a disturbing precursor for the even more overtly sociopathic captain Vidal in Del Toro’s follow up film PANS LABYRINTH.
There are a few minor plot irritations at work during the film, especially regarding some very irrational character behavior regarding a pile of burning petrol cans. However these are minor flaws in an otherwise outstanding gothic thriller bathed in the pounding desert heat.
Liam Jack
Film details
The Devil's Backbone
DEL TORO
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Actor: Eduardo Noriega
Actor: Marisa Paredes
Actor: Eduardo Noriega
Actor: Marisa Paredes
Spain, 2001.
106 mins.
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