by Karen Louise Hollis

Created on: September 15, 2010

Film's Title – The Devil’s Backbone (El espinazo del Diablo)

Year of Release – 2001

Director – Guillermo Del Toro

Stars of the Film – Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi

MPAA rating – R, UK rating - 15

Guillermo Del Toro’s work is ideal for anyone needing a healthy dose of escapism and viewers will be transported into his bizarre world again by watching The Devil’s Backbone (El espinazo del Diablo), a film which was released in 2001.

It is set in 1939 during the latter stages of the Spanish Civil War. Young boys who are orphaned or can’t be looked after by their parents are sent to a unique kind of boarding school. It is in the middle of nowhere, looking like an abandoned fort and has an unexploded bomb protruding out of the playground – a constant reminder of the war.

It is staffed by a few adults, including Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi) and Carmen (Marisa Paredes). They try their best and cope well with basic rations and the ever-present threat of war. Casares is elderly and kindly (Luppi putting in a wonderful performance here and resembling Christopher Lee as he is now, minus the menace) although pained by his romanticism and love for Carmen. She has an artificial leg, but battles through to govern the young boys and teach them the best she can.

In Dr. Casales’s laboratory, he keeps a disturbing collection of foetuses in bottles, pickled in ‘limbo fluid’ – a liquid which he then bottles and sells to the villagers as a cure for impotence. One of these foetuses has a raised spine, which he explains is known as the Devil’s Backbone.

The younger adults at the school include Jacinto (played by Eduardo Noriega) and his girlfriend Conchita (Irene Visedo). There is a silent threat surrounding Jacinto, so initially it is hard to know whether to trust him or not. He is handsome, fit and a hard worker. Along with Conchita, they dream of moving away one day and owning a farm together.

The film begins with the arrival of a new boy Carlos (Fernando Tielve), who is left there by his tutor. He finds it hard to settle in at first, especially as he faces bullying from Jaime (Inigo Garces), who is taller and can be quite intimidating. But soon Carlos is also facing another threat, as he seems to be seeing a ghost, known by the other boys as “the one who sighs”. But who is he and what does he want?

It seems quite a complex plot, but it is easy to follow - even

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