El Espinazo del Diablo (2001)
Genre: Drama / Horror
Duration: 106 minuten
Alternative title: The Devil's Backbone
Country:
Spain / Mexico / France / Argentina
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Stars: Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes and Federico Luppi
IMDb score:
7,3 (75.673)
Releasedate: 20 April 2001
El Espinazo del Diablo plot
"What is a ghost?"
As the Spanish Civil War rages through the country, a remote orphanage for children of killed Republican soldiers and politicians is no fun either. Carlos is a newcomer who is not exactly the favorite of the frosty headmistress and has to watch out for the brutal jacinto (Eduardo Noriega). Only a friendly professor sometimes turns a blind eye. An unexploded bomb in the building constantly makes the threat of war tangible and if it also turns out that a restless ghost haunts the corridors and rooms, it can be called an explosive situation.
Actors and actresses
Carmen
Jacinto
Dr. Casares
Carlos
Jaime
Conchita
Marcelo
'El Puerco'
Santi
Alma
Reviews & comments
leatherhead
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- 3556 messages
- 1813 votes
Mwah, this print more or less illustrates why things are not going well between me and Spanish cinema for the time being. Too clean, in my opinion. Unfortunately, El Espinazo del Diablo has also fallen prey to this.
Not that I expected a frightening film, but the 'horror' was very hard to find here. The horror element largely continues to play hide-and-seek, only sporadic attempts were made (and then without any effect). But worse: the fantasy element also doesn't really want to settle in anywhere. What remains is a rather lifeless, slow story that gets off the ground, which is brightened up with some nice lighting, but cannot mask that it is full of blatant clichés and platitudes. So average trump.
The characters are also mainly in function of the fairy tale; you can of course set the clock that the mean scoundrel will have to pay for our daring kids. I held my heart for a moment...
So not for me. As horror it lingers too much in sluggishness, as fantasy it suffers too much from a lack of ideas. The spacious setting and some beautiful atmospheric shots save the film from a real jerk rating. 2.0*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
tbouwh
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- 5839 messages
- 5436 votes
Too bad, I didn't see it (either). And that with The Shape oW at your doorstep. The atmosphere, setting and especially the music of Javier Navarrete are more than fine, but the story left me cold and the cast didn't impress for a moment either. All the tension that Del Toro seems to want to evoke is not felt in the experience and the references to Spanish history also played a much more interesting role in PL.
It was a surprisingly tension-free and long seat, and that was the last thing I expected. Although I found Crimson Peak mediocre for similar reasons: the narrative there also contrasts sharply with the beautiful setting, the wonderful score and the pronounced stylization.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
-
- 11562 messages
- 6807 votes
Disappointing yes.
Not that I'm the biggest Del Toro fan, but The Devil's Backbone gets the lowest rating so far and to this day it's the only best man movie I just couldn't get into at all. The playing time of 106 minutes was therefore quite a task.
Quite strange that I couldn't really get into it because normally these kind of imaginative atmospheres are just my thing. This movie just didn't grab me, and I think it's mostly because of very boring characters and a tone that's constantly swearing at each other that makes it feel a bit cluttered as a whole.
The film feels like a children's film, war film and ghost film, but never as a whole. The tones simply cannot combine or amplify each other at all. Del Toro tries to disguise this a bit by doing a lot of pretty filmmaking, but not the kind that manages to make it a little more interesting.
Furthermore, the story is pretty bland and the horror atmosphere does not work. The exciting scenes fall flat and the imaginative atmosphere comes solely from the decoration and cinematography. Furthermore, it does not have too much added value except for a feast for the eyes. Characters are otherwise quite boring and the "villain" bland.
The playing time just ripples along for its 106 minutes and only has a handful of memorable moments. They are often not portrayed very well or very cheaply. The explosion seemed to come from a B-movie for example. Furthermore, the dialogues are medieval and the chemistry between children and characters is absent. As a whole then there is not much to praise very much.
Visually it remains beautiful. The first scene is great, but apart from beautiful colors and beautiful decorations, the film doesn't have much to offer. The acting is quite nice, but everything is so lame and uninteresting translated to the silver screen that the film is just a tiring session.
Translated from Dutch · View originalLatest News
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