Twenty-ninth review is for a not so hidden gem from a director that has made some of my favorite things, Guillermo del Toro. Historic, atmospheric, haunting, greed, war, unlikely orphan heroes. Includes #spoilers :
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El Espinazo Del Diablo [aka The Devil’s Backbone] (2001) Pros: Starts really foreboding with a voice over, alright I’m in this. Appreciate the atmosphere, and that the ghost presents itself pretty early. The ghost kid design, What!? It’s so slick, creepy, and gives me a little Tokyo Ghoul vibe. The story was exciting and I wanted to see how everything would play together. Are they in a time loop kinda vibe like Triangle or is it just normal events with a creepy backdrop? The main bad guy Jacinto was sympathetic and greedy, and came to act! When he as drowning and had all the gold in his pockets I was like Damnnn, that’s a bad hit homie. I think all the actors did amazing, and the ending was an ending, it circles back to the quote from the beginning and it feels nice to see the boys start their journey away from that place.
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Cons: I don’t know how long that bomb has been there, but we know the spirit of Santi was there since that day. I explained it in my mind that the only reason why the ghost started showing itself more directly was because he was able to sense that something evil was coming and needed to get to work. And the boys led Jacinto to where Santi died because it’s more of a full circle, righteous moment. But same as The Night House, this spirit can move stuff around, open doors, spill water, Jacinto could have been long dead before all those kids and adults were killed by the explosion. He coulda popped in and poured some water on the flame that’s all I’m saying.
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I give it a strong 6, it entertained me, everytime the spirit popped up I was excited, the budding friendship between Jaime and Carlos was cute. Santi just needed to be a little quicker with getting his revenge, Jacinto shoulda never had a good night sleep. Like The Orphanage, Haunting in Connecticut, and maybe The Exorcist 2.
#halloween #elespinazodeldiablo #review #horrormovies #spanish #explorepage #new