Guillermo del Toro’s 2001 gothic horror The Devil’s Backbone, newly re-released on 4K, opens with a startling image: an unexploded bomb resting in an orphanage courtyard, an omen of violence waiting to explode. As the Spanish Civil War draws to an end, twelve‑year‑old Carlos (Fernando Tielve) arrives at the remote orphanage, where he is immediately drawn into a tangle of shifting loyalties, buried betrayals, and the mournful presence of Santi (Junio Valverde), the ghost who refuses to be forgotten.
The orphanage becomes an echo of the fractured Spain outside. Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and Casares (Federico Luppi) cling to the ideals of the Loyalists, while Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega) – once a child of the orphanage himself, but now its most dangerous inhabitant – embodies the rise of fascism. The adults’ tangled desires, such as Jacinto’s strained relationship with his fiancée Conchita (Irene Visedo), foreshadow the emotional themes del Toro would further explore in Pan’s Labyrinth.
Del Toro’s touch is everywhere: suspense unfurls with patient precision, and the production design – scarred courtyards, dim cellars – mirrors the story’s buried secrets. Santi’s ghost, his blood drifting like a slow underwater current, showcases del Toro’s gift for blending practical and digital effects.
The Devil’s Backbone is more than just a ghost story, it’s a study of the emotional wreckage war leaves behind, something that feels all too familiar today. Through Carlos’s hesitant coming‑of‑age and Casares’ struggle between reason and the supernatural, del Toro explores how people face fear, choose their loyalties, and carry the echoes of violence long after the bombs stop falling.
This StudioCanal release has a plethora of bonus material, including two audio commentaries by Guillermo del Toro ported over from previous releases. Also included is an audio commentary with del Toro and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro. All have their merits, but all, more or less, contain the same facts and information about the making of the film. Which brings us nicely to “Que es un Fantasma?” – The Making of The Devil’s Backbone. If you have any of the previous releases, then this won’t be new to you.
Other extras include deleted scenes with optional commentary, special effects featurettes, “Of Ghosts and Fauns: Del Toro’s Spanish Civil War” – a behind-the-scenes featurette which explores the film’s context and themes related to the Spanish Civil War, a picture gallery, and the obligatory trailer.
THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE is available on 4K UHD from 13th April.
