The Devil's Backbone

2001 • 107 minutes

About this movie

In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, on a desolate plateau sits the Santa Lucia School, where the orphans of the left-wing Republican forces await the inevitable arrival of Franco's fascists. It is run by steely headmistress Carmen (Marisa Paredes), widow of a leftist poet, and old professor Cásares (Federico Luppi), with the help of the mysteriously hateful caretaker, Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega). Ten-year-old Carlos (Fernando Tielve), a recent arrival, gradually uncovers the school's dark secret; a student (Junio Valverde) was brutally murdered, and his pale ghost wanders the grounds. From acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Cronos), this supernatural melodrama and unpredictable ghost story is also a telling political allegory for the brutal war raging just outside the school's walls. (Original Title - El espinazo del diablo) 2000, 2001 Tequila Gang, S.A. de C.V. and El Deseo, D.A., S.L.U. All Rights Reserved.

Ratings and reviews

Excellent movie, except the subtitles are so tiny & they speak very fast. Until they do dubbing it in English version, it is risky to see in a smart phone. That is just my opinion.

Excellent movie! I wish there was an English dub, but that's a very minor complaint. I've seen plenty of foreign movies I love that is not dubbed in English.

A beautifully shot movie, with so many layers to the ghost story. One of the new masters of horror and fantasy.