Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Marisa ParedesCarmen
- Eduardo NoriegaJacinto
- Federico LuppiDr. Casares
- Fernando TielveCarlos
- Íñigo GarcésJaime
- Irene VisedoConchita
- José Manuel LorenzoMarcelo
- Francisco Maestre'El Puerco'
- Junio ValverdeSanti
- Berta OjeaAlma
Recommendations
- 91
Entertainment Weekly
Del Toro builds excitement, dread, and melodrama in equal layers. - 90
L.A. Weekly
Here is a ghost story so dynamic you could call it a ghost poem. - 80
Chicago Reader
An entertaining and atmospheric revenge tale. - 80
New Times (L.A.)
The sensitive art-house viewer should be warned: Though slow-moving at first, the film ends in explosions and violent death, with a level of sadism that will undoubtedly prove too intense for some viewers. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
Brooding ghost story is rich with psychological and political implications that never obscure its fundamental creepiness. - 75
Miami Herald
After a leisurely first half, The Devil's Backbone becomes utterly spellbinding, its tension mounting in steady increments, its story taking one dark turn after another, and its bittersweet resolution destined to haunt you long after you've left the theater. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
The film doesn't explore the nature of ghosts, as it promises to initially, but it's fun to watch Del Toro confront death and fear with such energy and humor. - 75
Boston Globe
A seductively corrosive horror story that also potently suggests the ways war can shatter childhood.
