'El Espinazo Del Diablo' is set in an orphanage (that beautifully symolizes Spain during the civil war) just before the fall of Catalonia. It works both as a gripping political drama and an engaging ghost story. Del Toro brings cleverly brings the elements of both genres together to tell the story, something he also accomplished in his more recent 'El Fauno del Laberinto' (where he amazingly combines fantasy horror with political drama).
Just like with 'El Fauno del Laberinto', Del Toro has taken care that this film isn't neglected in the aspects of film-making. The cinematography stands out. The yellowish tint stresses on the stifling heat and adds to the deserted isolation of the orphanage. The use of symbolism and riddles is remarkable. The details, e.g. flies buzzing around corpses, dusty atmosphere etc are given considerable attention. Visuals are just as impressive e.g. bloody flying in the air like a part of the wing. Del Toro extracts fine performance from all the actors. Seasoned actors like Federico Luppi, Marisa Paredes and Eduardo Noriega (in a menacing role) are superb to say the least but the child actors too hold their own.
The characters in 'El Espinazo Del Diablo' represent very distinct qualities that make a human nature. For example, Jacinto as the greedy one and Carmen's object of lust, Carlos as the innocent but determined one and Casares as the wise and silent one. In addition to that, the film itself is very poetic and metaphorical. There's a beautiful scene where Casares tells Carlos what a ghost is. Well, I won't say what was told but that was a very powerful scene.
In a nutshell, 'El Espinazo Del Diablo' is a horrifying, tragic but beautiful film. It will provide you with more than what you expect...as long as you don't know what to expect.
