8 Great Horror Movies Unfairly Snubbed At The Oscars

Set at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Guillermo del Toro’s carefully crafted chiller sees 12-year-old Carlos left at an orphanage where he must adapt to his new life and surroundings. But when he starts seeing the ghost of a young boy, Carlos begins to uncover the dark, hidden truth of the place.

This is a rare example of the genre where human drama is placed at the forefront through a classical approach to storytelling with multiple subplots and fully-fleshed-out characters, and in which high production values and the epic, historical sweep of the film almost make us forget we’re watching a horror. If it weren’t for the ghosts, The Devil’s Backbone would seem tailor made for the Oscars. But there’s no ignoring the supernatural element here as del Toro weaves his dark magic through every scene. The presence of the dead is with us always, and we are frequently terrified as the director forces us to experience events through the eyes of the young.

The Devil’s Backbone received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Horror Film but didn’t get so much as a look in at the Oscars. Four years later, at the 2007 Academy Awards, Del Toro’s Spanish Civil-War-set gothic fairy tale, Pan’s Labyrinth, would be nominated for six gongs and go on to win three (Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Makeup). It’s a great movie, but no better than The Devil’s Backbone, which Del Toro still considers to be his most personal work.

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