Every year I set myself a target, usually of about 100, of films to watch. These are new films. Not new, new films. But films that are new to me. Any time I’ve seen a new one, I post a bit of a brain dump of my thoughts on the film here. Enjoy!
The Devil’s Backbone (06/06/12)
After Carlos, a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War, arrives at an ominous boy’s orphanage he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets that he must uncover.
You very rarely get to see good ghost stories these days. They’re usually laden with horror clichés and totally, ridiculously stupid characters. So, it’s pretty refreshing watching an old Guillermo del Toro ghost story which is a pure ghost story, packed with some decent chills, but like a lot of his films, some intelligent and interesting characters.
In many ways, The Devil’s Backbone reminded me of a more recent ghost story in which Guillermo del Toro was an executive producer – The Orphanage. The ghost story part of both of these films aren’t the only focus. It’s closely intertwined with the goings on in the present. Then some of the narration and setting reminded me a lot of one of Guillermo’s most popular films – Pan’s Labyrinth. You can definitely see how he’s developed his films.
The strongest point in this film are the characters and the actors who play them. All the boys are what I’d imagine real young boys would be like in an isolated orphanage. Tearaways, bullies but friends all in the same situation. Never once did the boys annoy me. Something that sometimes a lot of young actors’ characters tend to do for me!
I wouldn’t say The Devil’s Backbone was a scary film. Just a beautifully done ghost story. Haunting, for sure. Definitely recommend it.
Rating: 4/5
Read on to see all the films watched this year…
45 Films so far this year
- The Tourist 1/5 (02/01/12)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5/5 (03/01/12)
- World’s Greatest Dad 2/5 (14/01/12)
- Haywire 3/5 (19/01/12)
- Dead Snow 3/5 (20/01/12)
- The Artist 5/5 (21/01/12)
- Priest 2/5 (05/02/12)
- The Muppets 5/5 (15/02/12)
- Faster 4/5 (19/02/12)
- Chronicle 4/5 (22/02/12)
- Safe House 4/5 (24/02/12)
- Reservoir Dogs 4/5 (25/02/12)
- This Means War 4/5 (02/03/12)
- The Royal Tenenbaums 3/5 (03/03/12)
- Reign of Fire 3/5 (04/03/12)
- Dear John 2/5 (04/03/12)
- Road to Perdition 5/5 (05/03/12)
- The Three Musketeers 3/5 (06/03/12)
- The Eagle 2/5 (10/03/12)
- Everybody’s Fine 2/5 (14/03/12)
- Frankenstein 4/5 (15/03/12)
- Love and Other Drugs 2/5 (15/03/12)
- You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 2/5 (17/03/12)
- The Big Lebowski 5/5 (18/03/12)
- The Hunger Games 3/5 (23/03/12)
- Headhunters 4/5 (07/04/12)
- Super 1/5 (07/04/12)
- The Cabin in the Woods 5/5 (13/04/12)
- Watchmen 4/5 (14/04/12)
- The Hurt Locker 3/5 (21/04/12)
- Avengers Assemble 5/5 (26/04/12)
- 22 Bullets 2/5 (28/04/12)
- Bad Teacher 1/5 (29/04/12)
- Red Riding Hood 1/5 (04/05/12)
- A Perfect Getaway 4/5 (05/05/12)
- Ca$h 1/5 (13/05/12)
- Kung Fu Panda 2 3/5 (14/05/12)
- Everything Must Go 2/5 (24/05/12)
- New York, I Love You 2/5 (25/05/12)
- Beginners 4/5 (26/05/12)
- Prometheus 4/5 (03/06/12)
- The Tree of Life 2/5 (04/06/12)
- The Lovely Bones 3/5 (05/06/12)
- Snow White and the Huntsman 3/5 (06/06/12)
- The Devil’s Backbone 4/5 (07/06/12)
Not one I’ve seen. You make it sound great. One to add to the list.
R
I’d definitely recommend it.
I’d love to see this one. I adore ghost stories in all their glory with creepy and dark atmosphere and I enjoyed Orphanage.
It’s a great little ghost story. If you liked The Orphanage you’ll definitely like this one.
Great film but preffered The Orphanage! This one kinda didn’t stick with me whereas The Orphanage blew me away!
Ahh, I felt the opposite! Think I need to crack out The Orphanage again. It’s been a while since I saw it.
Awesome! I keep forgetting about this one, but it has been on my to-watch list for a while. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
It’s a good one. I have a thing about Spanish horror!
Not a big horror fan, so I’ll likely skip this one. Sounds terrifying!
Aww.. well, I wouldn’t call it horror. It’s got some chills. But it is a beautiful little story. If you ever pluck up the courage, I’d recommend this.
Del Toro’s films are very good, so I’ll have to give this one a watch!
Definitely worth it!
[…] Woman in Black isn’t a bad ghost/horror film. It’s just not up there with the likes of The Devil’s Backbone and The Orphanage. For me those are among my favourite ghost stories because they have a whole lot […]