Every Guillermo Del Toro Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Many of del Toro's films deal with war, childhood and grief, but few more viscerally than The Devil's Backbone, a haunting drama and unsettling ghost story that follows a young orphan who's pursued by a tantalising mystery, and shadowed by the horrors and pain of the Spanish Civil War.

Brilliantly performed and genuinely scary, The Devil's Backbone is del Toro at his most sombre, blending his love for horror with a deeply personal tale of war's cost that is as horribly grim as it is tender and full of hope. Like many of his films, it's harsh and unflinching, but not without a buoyant flourish.

If that wasn't enough, the film (only del Toro's third) is also one of his most visually enticing feasts, complete with macabre production design and lively special effects that make every twist of the story that much more awe-inspiring. And it's still only just in his top three!