At its most basic this is a ghost story set in a remote school/orphanage for boys during the Spanish Civil War.
But this is also a film written, directed and produced by Guillermo del Toro who would go on later to write, direct and produce Pan's Labyrinth with which there are some obvious similarities. To begin with both films are set in Spain during the Civil War and both feature a child as the protagonist. Where Pan's Labyrinth was del Toro's spin on the Fantasy Genre with some very dark elements The Devil's Backbone is his spin on the Horror Genre or more specifically a Ghost Story but its not all thrills and chills. The film spends a lot of time developing various characters and also slowly unraveling the story behind the appearance of the ghost of the young boy who haunts the orphanage.
According to del Toro in his DVD commentary he was very much influenced by the Gothic Romance genre and that is how he would categorize the film, he also indicated there are numerous autobiographical elements in the film based upon his childhood in Mexico and particularly those things that frightened him as a child. These influences contribute to the obvious and deliberate style which is a hallmark of his films and also give us a fascinating tale of horror that doesn't need gore to be effective.
The film features very good overall performances from the cast, it looks great and very effectively creates the appropriate atmosphere but despite all this I did not find it as engrossing or as rewarding an experience as was Pan's Labyrinth.
But this is also a film written, directed and produced by Guillermo del Toro who would go on later to write, direct and produce Pan's Labyrinth with which there are some obvious similarities. To begin with both films are set in Spain during the Civil War and both feature a child as the protagonist. Where Pan's Labyrinth was del Toro's spin on the Fantasy Genre with some very dark elements The Devil's Backbone is his spin on the Horror Genre or more specifically a Ghost Story but its not all thrills and chills. The film spends a lot of time developing various characters and also slowly unraveling the story behind the appearance of the ghost of the young boy who haunts the orphanage.
According to del Toro in his DVD commentary he was very much influenced by the Gothic Romance genre and that is how he would categorize the film, he also indicated there are numerous autobiographical elements in the film based upon his childhood in Mexico and particularly those things that frightened him as a child. These influences contribute to the obvious and deliberate style which is a hallmark of his films and also give us a fascinating tale of horror that doesn't need gore to be effective.
The film features very good overall performances from the cast, it looks great and very effectively creates the appropriate atmosphere but despite all this I did not find it as engrossing or as rewarding an experience as was Pan's Labyrinth.