A Espinha do Diabo

...An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber."

Often compared to "The Sixth Sense (1999)" and "The Others (2001)", "The Devil's Backbone" is even a better film, the ultimate ghost story that goes beyond the genre and very successfully mixes horror, suspense, and coming of age during the war time story. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the film takes place during the Spanish Civil War in an isolated boarding school for the orphans of the War where a new boy, Carlos encounters the ghost of a murdered child Santi whose body was never found and who warns Carlos that "Many of you will die". How did Santi die? Why does not he leave the school's courtyard, what is the tragedy he is trying to prevent? It is up to Carlos to find the answers to these and many more questions as well as to stand up to the school's bully, Jaime and to find out what is behind the violent hostility of the orphanage's nasty caretaker, Jacinto who himself was and orphan and had been a pupil in the school as a child. The movie is not just beautifully directed – it is very well written and provides the deep insight into each character, including school headmistress named Carmen (Marisa Paredes), kind and brave Professor Casares, vicious bully Jaime who would turn a lonely and scared boy and even the embodiment of evil, Jacinto with his own heartbreaking story. Along with "The Spirit of the Beehive", "Devil's Backbone" is a harrowing exploration of the war and its affect on childhood. It also brings to mind such classic as Bunuel's "Los Olvidados" – and this is the best praise I have for any movie. Highly recommended.

A beautiful, atmospheric story about a haunted orphanage. To date, I think it's Del Toro's most "complete" film, combining his trademark visuals with a very touching story about war, death, guilt and grief - and ultimately hope.

Like 'Pan's Labyrinth' the story is set against the backdrop of the Spanish civil war (although here the war serves merely as a background noise). The film is so beautifully shot that I would recommend it even to people who don't normally like ghost stories (it does have some scary moments, mind); this one transcends the horror genre. 8 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495

A classy Hispanic horror movie finely written by Antonio Trashorras, David Muñoz, and Guillermo Del Toro himself. Set late Spanish Civil War,1936-1939, after his Republican dad dies in battle , 10-year-old Carlos : Fernando Tielve, is left at a desert orphanage. There he faces off a bully boy and suffers bullying and isolation. The orphanage formed by waif pupils is run by a crippled woman named Carmen : Marisa Paredes and a good doctor : Federico Luppi. Both of whom hope to protect their charges from advancing of the Francoist troops. Here is also a nasty, violent janitor : Eduardo Noriega, who mistreats and abuses the innocent childen . But rare happenings occur , as dangers and risks exist inside the brittle sanctuary . As there are chilling rumours around a little boy who was missing. Hence a creepy ghost mystery turns into a terrifying tale concerning opposing forces taking on themselves . At the end concealed passions eventually burst in unexpected and tragic consequences.

A superior psychological thriller with horror and fantastic elements . I filters the traumatic conflict of the Spanish Civil War, though it is partly comprehending eyes of a child. This is a pretty good picture whose methaphorical/poetic messsage glossing on historical and political realities. It contains an impressive and rousing denouement in which Del Toro builds a surprising result with explosive as well as deadly events. It displays vivid performances from the protagonists kiddies, as well as veteran Marisa Paredes giving top-notch acting as the crippled and bitter Principal, Federico Luppi as the kindly professor Casares and Eduardo Noriega as the self-serving and surly janitor. Other secondaries briefly appearing are as follows : Irene Visedo, Francisco Maestre, Berta Riaza and José Luis Lorenzo.

It packs a mysterious and thrilling musical score by Javier Navarrete. Evocative and adequate cinematography by Guillermo Navarro, Del Toro's regular. As well as polished, but subtle FX from Reyes Abades and DDT that also made Pan's labyrinth. This bloody and haunting ghost story was competently directed by Guillermo Del Toro, though direction sluggish, at times. Del Toro is a cinephile who usually shows on his movies , the deep knowledges about film history. He is a fine writer and director with special penchant for fantasy, horror and weird stories. As Guillermo has made successful films, such as Cronos, Pan's labyrinth, Mimic , Hellboy I and II, Blade II, Pacific rim, Crimson peak, The shape of the water, among others. Rating 7/10. Better than average.

Some people think horror is about busty teens and young rebels being picked off by mysterious killers or lots of gore from a made up creature. Well this film has neither so stay away.

What you do have is a stunning film with great actors playing real people with real issues. Three or four stories are interwoven perfectly, set off with great imagery...all set around the Spanish civil war and the haunting corridors of an orphanage for abandoned children.

While the film does contain a ghost -the murdered child, Santi- the real horror of the film comes from the greed of certain adults who occupy the orphanage with the children.

This film is intelligent poetry on screen -mortality, love, hate, jealousy, greed and redemption are all explored.

This film puts many films to shame just for having a great story at it's core.

I'm a massive fan of the horror genre, but I don't like ghost stories. To me, ghost stories are a poor manifestation of the genre. It's not the idea of ghosts that's the problem, it's the way the stories are presented; often dull, slow moving and uninteresting, and those are things that do not make a good movie. However, there is an exception to every rule; and this film is the case with that one. The Devil's Backbone is a mesmerising and inventive addition to the ghost story tradition. The film moves slowly, but that is a definite advantage to it. The slow pace allows us to get to know, and even care for the characters before the horror starts, and this makes the horror all the more potent when it does start. The Devil's Backbone has been touted as 'the Spanish Sixth Sense', and although this is unfair as this is hardly a bad film; I can see where that notion is coming from. The main difference between the two, however, and the reason why this film works and Shyamalan's doesn't is that the parts between the horror here aren't boring, are well acted and serve a purpose in that they allow us to get to know the characters; Shyamalan got too caught up in trying to make his twist work and the drama in-between caught the brunt of that, rendering the film boring.

The film can't really be accurately described as a 'horror film', it's more of a drama come character study with horror elements. The horror elements are pronounced, as the ghost is the centrepiece of the story, but the film doesn't focus on them enough for it to be considered horror. Entwined within it's plot is a coming of age tale, a story of revenge and a nice little section on 'what is a ghost'. I like it when a film delves into it's subject material and attempts to give something of an explanation; Return of the Living Dead did it for zombies (albeit comically), and The Devil's Backbone does it here for ghosts. The coming of age side of the story is brought to life brilliantly by some sublime acting courtesy of the young cast. Entwined within the story are themes of the kids being thrust into a situation that requires them to grow up fast, and it also sees them dealing with themes of death and revenge.

One thing you will instantly notice about this film is the fantastic cinematography. The film has a gritty style, but despite this it manages to come off looking crisp and clean. There are some shots that are incredibly beautiful. All shots with the ghost, which is one of the best crafted ever, come to mind immediately but also of note are the underwater sequences, the special effects and the capture of the location. The film is set in an orphanage somewhere the Spanish desert, and this location serves the movie magnificently. The fact that it's a day's walk away from the nearest town makes the film very isolated, which allows the horror more potency. Guillermo Del Toro is an obviously talented director. He has this film under his belt, along with Cronos (which I haven't yet seen, but have heard great things), but after that it's hit and miss. Blade 2 was a good film, and a refreshing one after the lackluster first part; but Mimic wasn't very good on the whole, despite some good moments. More recently he's gone on to direct Hellboy, which again I haven't seen but it looks like another fun film. I hope Del Toro makes a return to art soon, he has the talent and it would be a shame to lose him to 'decent' films.