Film of the Week: Guillermo del Toro's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE

Stay by my side as my light grows dim /as my blood slows down and my nerves shatter with stabbing pain / as my heart grows weak / and the wheels of my being turn slowly / Stay by my side /as my fragile body is racked by pain /which verges on truth / and manic time continues scattering dust / and furious life bursts out in flames. Stay by my side / as I fade / so you can point to the end of my struggle /and the twilight of eternal days / at the low, dark edge of life.  -- Casares,  The Devil's Backbone 

When you throw out the name Guillermo del Toro to a random person on the street, they may look at you all funny and think about why you've just blurted out a random Spanish name. If you throw out that very name to a film enthusiast, chances are they will associate the name with a film. It would probably be his popular one, Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Or, for the comic enthusiasts, Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). All these films have his same unique visionary style that makes for a pleasurable movie experience. Then there's a film not too many people know about, or even heard of. That very film is The Devil's Backbone (2001). And If you have seen it or heard of it, I give the ol' pat on the back to you kind sir and/or ma'am.

I like Guillermo del Toro's creative and unique visionary style that he has. But if you're looking for a visionary masterpiece from The Devil's Backbone, this isn't it. This is purely his powerful storytelling with just a hint of this vision of his. The story takes place during the final days of the Spanish Civil War and is about the arrival of twelve-year-old Carlos at an orphanage. Upon his arrival, he starts hearing and seeing an image of a little boy, who he later finds out is a former student at the orphanage who was murdered. This, in turn, leads to a shocking and haunting truth of what happened at the orphanage in the past.

If you know me, I tend to repeat myself when asked the question about horror and if I fancy it. The investigator that has gone "bad cop" on me, with a very bright light shining into my face and my ass parked in an uncomfortable wooden chair, gives me a good sucker punch to the nose. He tries desperately to get an answer. And the very answer that I give to that question, as blood trickles down my nose is, "I love Foreign Horror." Disgusted, he spits on my face and calls me un-American as he leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen a good American horror film since the 80's and early 90's. The one's being released now lack good story or are based on, you guessed it, remakes of other foreign horror films. Where's the creativity and originality fellow American's?

So, my dear readers, I urge you to see The Devil's Backbone. That is, of course, if you want to engage yourselves in a well written and nicely executed little film with some amazing acting and great cinematography.

FIN