The Devil's Backbone
El espinazo del diablo
2001SpainLanguage: esDirected by Guillermo del Toro★ 7.3
Available in English: subtitled
Spain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.
Themes and style
Tone
hauntingmelancholicbleakdark comedy
Pacing
slow burnescalatingmethodical
Story
investigationsurvivalunravelingsiege
Emotion
griefloss of innocenceinjusticebelongingthe family you chooseguilt
Themes
life under oppressionfamily wounds passed downclass and moneycorrupt institutions
Feel
quietly hauntinggut punchcerebraldiscussion startercathartic
Violence
moderate