Plot: What’s it about?
As the Spanish Civil War has raged ahead, countless children are orphaned and left with little hope, but there are some places for them for them to turn. One such option is the Santa Lucia School, a massive old stone structure that houses the orphaned children of military personnel and politicians involved in the conflict. The newest arrival to Santa Lucia is twelve year old Carlos (Fernando Tielve), an inquisitive and intelligent young person. Santa Lucia is sympathetic to the Republican side in the skirmish and Carlos’ father was a fallen heroic soldier for the cause, which means school leaders Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and Professor Cesares (Federico Luppi) keep a close eye on his condition. Though Carlos finds himself tormented by the school’s bully, he is able to overcome the situation, but he remains uncomfortable at Santa Lucia. As time passes, Carlos begins to experience some unusual things, such as an off limits room near the well, stories about the institution’s past, and most unusual, the presence of a ghost. As invading forces close in on the area and an unexploded bomb looms over them, what will become of the orphans of Santa Lucia and what happened to cause these strange events to transpire?
If you’re like me, you love a good supernatural thriller, but you’re just about fed up with the ones that use suckerpunch, gimmick twist endings. Yes, these can be fun, but they become more about the last five minutes, instead of a complete motion picture. As such, The Devil’s Backbone is like a fresh breeze, as it relies on atmosphere, visuals, and tension throughout the movie, not just a bland focus on a string of flashbacks just before the end credits. The suspense and tensions creeps in from not just the supernatural realm either, as the constant threat of attack and the ever present bomb in the courtyard add to the thick tension. As I watched The Devil’s Backbone, I was getting the vibes I get when watching old school ghost pictures, as it has little blood and cheap scare effects, but instead a well crafted sense of eerie atmosphere, simply marvelous work. The film becomes more and more effective as the plot unfolds, but as I mentioned, this is no gimmick picture, the finale is well done and delivers good closure. I recommend this to anyone interested in supernatural suspense and Columbia has loosed a nice disc, so don’t hesitate to check this out.
It is rare these days to find a supernatural thriller that plays by the old school rules, but director Guillermo Del Toro has delivered one with The Devil’s Backbone. After the success of The Sixth Sense, it seems that filmmakers want to use the twist ending in every genre picture, which means the twist loses more & more power each time. I wasn’t surprised in The Sixth Sense, The Others, or any other more recent twist ending fiasco, though the latter did supply some nice atmosphere. With this film, Del Toro uses eerie visuals, atmosphere, and skill to craft his thriller, not just the twist at the end, buckets of blood, or cheap shock scares. The result is a strong, very effective thriller and I hope to see others follow this formula, as opposed to going for the cheap tricks. Other films by Del Toro include Cronos, Mimic, and Blade II. The cast includes Eduardo Noriega (Open Your Eyes, Thesis), Marisa Paredes (All About My Mother, Life is Beautiful), Federico Luppi (The Girlfriend, The Place That Was Paradise), and Fernando Tielve (The Shanghai Spell).
Video: How does it look?
The Devil’s Backbone is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. I was quite pleased with this treatment, as Columbia has secured a very clean print and done an excellent job porting this film to DVD. I did some minor nicks and grain at times, but the print looks very good and shows minimal defects. I found the colors to be well replicated, though this film uses a warmer than average scope, so keep that in mind. The movie has a lot of dark scenes and contrast is top notch here, delivering accurate shadow detail and well balance black levels. A solid looking visual effort from Columbia, who has been known for their great transfers, though they’ve been slipping of late with many pan & scan only treatments.
Audio: How does it sound?
This kind of movie needs a good audio treatment, as the various creaks and other subtle noises can add a lot to the atmosphere. In this case, we have an effective Dolby Digital 5.1 track and it enhances the tension to no end, a very good mix in all respects. The surrounds are used with care, to add to the eerie environment, but the presence never overwhelms, it walks that line with care and the end result is fantastic. The music also has some solid presence and adds to the experience, without a doubt. The dialogue is crisp and easy to understand, with the original Spanish soundtrack used on this release. This disc also includes English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The main attraction here is an audio commentary with director Guillermo Del Toro and director of photography Guillermo Navarro. The two seem a little reserved at first, but soon open up and share a wealth of information, especially Del Toro. He talks about some things he wanted to do with the film, how he executed those ideas, and even his thoughts on how they worked out. A solid, but sometimes slow session, it is still a treat to listen to these two discuss the production, without question. This disc also includes five storyboard comparisons, a brief behind the scenes featurette, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
