“The backbone of the devil“For us it is one of the best horror films of all time – and in the ultimate FILMSTARTS ranking of all time it is even ahead of genre classics and blockbusters such as “Tanz der Teufel”, “The Omen”, “Saw” or “Paranormal Activity”. Yet the horror thriller is clearly one of the most unknown works by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro. Don’t know the movie yet? Then this evening might be THE opportunity for you to finally close this education gap:
The early work of master director Guillermo del Toro can be seen on arte today, September 18, 2023 – from 10:10 PM. The perfect moment for this film, which has finally been approved by the FSK for 16 years and older and can only be broadcast in full length from 10 p.m. If that is too late for you, there are at least attractive alternatives:
Since April, the film has also been available on Amazon Prime Video – and is available to anyone with a subscription at no extra cost. However, currently “only” in the German dubbed version and not in the original Spanish version. You get it with the one published almost a year and a half ago Blu Ray*.
In “The Devil’s Backbone”, del Toro, known for films such as “Blade 2”, “Hellboy”, “Pacific Rim”, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Shape Of Water” and “Nightmare Alley”, tells the story of twelve-year-old Carlos (Fernando Tielve), who is placed in an orphanage when his father dies in the Spanish Civil War. But that’s exactly where the horror begins for the budding teen, as something mysterious seems to be going on in the house. And Carlos wants to discover what…
As with ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, del Toro combines historical horror in the form of the Civil War with a supernatural horror fairy talethat gets under your skin. Do you have a soft spot for Spanish suspense cinema like “The Orphanage” or “Julia’s Eyes”? And yet for the atmospheric stories of Guillermo del Toro? Then you should definitely put “The Devil’s Backbone” on your watchlist.