Every Guillermo Del Toro Movie - Ranked Worst To Best

Containing some of his most harrowing and profound work, The Devil's Backbone allows del Toro to show off all of his cinematic talents, with each piece of the film working together like fine machinery. His common tropes are on display: a fantasy film with horror elements, a period piece dealing with class struggles and a power hungry villain, and a story told through the eyes of a child.

The Devil's Backbone is a movie full of dread. There is the acute dread of the ongoing war, struggles within the orphanage itself, and the ever-present threat of ghastly creatures roaming the grounds. The presence of a warhead which had previously crashed on the property serves as a constant reminder of the lingering potential thread. Is the bomb a dud, defunct and now just a statuesque reminder of the horrors of war? It may be nothing. But the question of whether one day it may suddenly explode leaves a constant sense of unease. The mere existence of the bomb itself also reflects the fleeting mortality depicted in the film. The bomb probably should have gone off. The orphanage, its staff and its inhabitants maybe shouldn't even still be there.

The Devil's Backbone pairs the real life turmoil with the fantastical. The ghost of a child appears. He has a terrifying appearance, but he mean harm? Or is he warning of a potential threat? A ghost may be frightening, but why there is a ghost in the first place may be even more terrifying.