Let's get this out of the way, The Devil's Backbone is a much better film than Mimic, I know I said I enjoyed Mimic, and I did, but this film is more comparable to Cronos, which is definitely not a bad thing. Lets start with what I like, I like the smaller scale of this film, about 95% of this film takes place in the orphanage, that and the orphanage's very remote location makes the whole place feel somewhat eerie and isolated, and there is a history to the place, not just with the ghost, but with things like the unexploded bomb in the courtyard. Continuing with the smaller scale, unlike the Judas bugs in Mimic, the fishy goings on in this place isn't going to bring an end to the world, the film, it's events and it's consequences are practically entirely on an island. The Devil's Backbone also tells a very personal story with it's characters, who are mostly interesting, I only say mostly because of the good amount of people in the film that from what I remember don't even have names, and this is a film where the people really matter, people like the doctor played by Federico Luppi, Carlos and his fellow orphans, and the caretaker/ hardcore dickbag Jacinto. The film's story does take a good while to get going, In fact the first half to 2/3 of the film is a pretty slow burn, that may sound boring, but what drives this film is again the smaller, more personal story and it's characters, that said, when I think about The Devil's Backbone, I think about the last half to 1/3 of the film, when shit really hits the fan. I think this film is well paced, again with the slow burn first half and then the last half that I will avoid spoiling now. But I will say that more like Mimic than Cronos, this film doesn't so much end with a bang, though there is a bang in there and the film definitely ends with something.
It being del Toro you should expect at this point that I will go on about imagery and effects and blah blah blah, well here we go. This film does away with the sci fi elements of del Toro's last film and goes full on ghost film, and like vampires in Cronos, this is a very cool and interesting take on ghosts, it's not as creative as Cronos, but it's still an interesting interpretation of ghosts, and the design of the ghost is awesome, it's really creative and creepy as shit. The cool design doesn't stop there, the effects in general are really cool to look at, there's one shot, again with single shots, that I think is incredible, it's near the end of the film during a rain storm, there's also a beautiful if tiny effect with a red ribbon. The film also has some really cool cinematography, there's a lot of landscape shots that are really cool, and inside the orphanage there are a lot of cool creepy moments, including some long hallway shots with the ghost. The ghost stuff is handled really well, and this is a really creepy film at times, as well as a bloody one, especially in the last half, lots of blood, I wouldn't call it a scary film, but I can't deny that there are times where it gets under my skin, especially one in particular with a curtain, I won't explain, but now you know. Though, there is one thing I thought about the ghost, and that was the feeling that less could have been more; they show the ghost really early on in the film, and quite a few times throughout the film, I think he would have been more scary if he was less present. However, towards the end, I think the direction the ghost story went was really good, even if he is on screen a bit too much in my opinion.
The Devil's Backbone, is easily as good as Cronos and in some aspects I'd say it's better, it's not as scary or creative as Cronos, but it tells a more personal and interesting story, that minus some forgettable side characters, and it has del Toro's stamp of beautiful effects and directing. This is a film I'd highly recommend, though like Cronos, this isn't a film you'd watch for fun, check it out
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