After drowning in a deluge of hideous horror/fantasy remakes, sequels, prequels, it was like a burst of sunlight to experience this genuine masterpiece. Everything from the acting, the photography, the sets, make-up, music, etc. are extraordinary.

Director Guillermo del Toro casts a brilliant selection of performers who are all perfect for their roles. The boys, in particular, are all believable and likable, especially the one who portrays Carlo.

You're completely enraptured by the powerful mood of this movie and my only complaint is that it ended. I wanted to see more, more!

If you're sick to death of watching wretched remakes of horror/fantasy classics like "The day the earth stood still," "Halloween," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"--or endless hideous sequels like "Saw V" or "Rest Stop 2", "Lost Boys 2", or endless lousy remakes of Asian/Japanese duds where the monsters are always Oriental children wearing white make-up--then this is like a drink of cool water, one that you'll savor again and again. Bravo to Guillermo del Toro for giving us this unforgettable masterpiece!

Virtually flawless, a masterpiece and a work of art. Not a ghost story, though there is a ghost. It is, as all great movies are, about people not ghosts or special effects.

The cinematography is beautiful, the story works on more than one level, and the acting is excellent. del Toro's work with the children is particularly noteworthy and has nothing to do with the ersatz cuteness that is practically de rigeur in American movies. The story may work at an allegorical level for those familiar with the Spanish Civil War but, even for those without that knowledge, the characters are realistic and well-drawn enough to draw the viewer in. The mystery, what happened to the dead boy who haunts the school, is interesting but not central as we watch the last days of the school and wait to see which characters will survive its end.

I can't recommend this movie more highly.

Like The Orphanage and Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's 2001 The Devil's Backbone is "thinking person's horror." Set in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and taking place almost entirely within a creepy orphanage which has the singular feature of an unexploded bomb in its courtyard, this atmospheric tale of sadism, kindness, and postmortem revenge works very well on many levels. As was the case two years ago with Pan's Labyrinth I found myself every bit as interested in the real world goings on in this film as I was in the plot of the haunting of the orphanage by the spirit of a murdered, missing boy, and this duality of storytelling marks del Toro as every bit as talented a writer as he is creator of eerie movies. Not a lot of flash and special effects here, just a good old fashioned spooky ghost story.

Guillermo del Toro is currently known as the guy who made the Oscar-winning "Pan's Labyrinth," the "Hellboy" movies, and is going to direct "The Hobbit."

But way back in in 2001, del Toro made a movie that serves as a sport of ghost-story prequel to "Pan's Labyrinth." With its mysterious specter, innocent hero and a story set during a bloody civil war, "The Devil's Backbone" is a unique kind of horror movie -- it deftly sidesteps the cheap tricks and scares that most ghost stories employ.

Unaware that his father has been killed, Carlos (Fernando Tielve) thinks that he's being left at a remote orphanage only temporarily.

Kindly Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi) sympathizes with the lonely new boy, but Carlos soon is distracted from his troubles. He keeps seeing shadows, footprints and falling pitchers -- and when he wanders down into the vaulted cellar, he catches a glimpse of a silent ghost with a bleeding head wound. Even worse, the ghost -- which was a boy named Santi -- informs him that many people there will die.

But the most dangerous one at the orphanage is the brutal former-orphan Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), who is searching for a cache of hidden gold. As Carlos tries to figure out how Santi died -- and what angry, miserable Jaime (Íñigo Garcés) has to do with it -- the orphanage is suddenly turned into an explosive war zone. As Dr. Casares tries to protect the remaining boys, Carlos discovers the reason Santi died -- and what he wants now.

"The Devil's Backbone" is a movie filled with death: the orphanage is a dying institution in a time of war, filled with orphans and surrounded by sun-burnt grass. It even has a defused torpedo stuck right in the middle of the courtyard. By the time the ghost shows up, it seems like almost a natural part of such a ruined, quietly sorrowful place.

Fortunately Guillermo del Toro avoids cheap scares -- the ghost doesn't make weird noises or leap out at Carlos for no reason. Instead he evokes the fear of a child in a dark, creaky old house who is ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that there's something out there. Also some beautifully creepy visuals, such as blood floating in the air as if it were in water.

But the whole creepy-ghostly-factor is eclipsed about halfway through the movie. After a slow buildup of tension, everything suddenly erupts when Jacinto suddenly reveals his true self. Suddenly we've got explosions, blood, shattered glass, mangled bodies and an all-too human enemy who is slowly closing in. It makes the ghostly Santi seem suddenly very... nonthreatening.

And though the plot seems simple, del Toro spins a spiderweb of interconnected hints and plot threads -- comic books, slug collections, a wooden leg and blood-tinged water all come into play. There's loads of symbolism, and the beautiful scenes (Dr. Casares' final poetry recital to Carmen) are handled just as powerfully as the more gory, ghastly ones (the orphans' final assault).

It's kind of amazing that this was Tielve's movie debut, because he's simply incredible -- his character slides through fear, courage, sorrow and confusion, all with a kind of unshakable innocence. Garcés is equally good; at first he seems like a mere bully, but we gradually see how troubled and guilty he feels over what happened to Santi. Noriega is thoroughly nasty as a greedy, sociopathic thug who cares about nobody except himself (even his fiancee), while Luppi is a kindly, cultured old man who obviously loves the boys as if they were his own.

"The Devil's Backbone" is a haunting kind of ghost story, where the ghost is not the scariest thing you'll see. A powerful, striking movie.

Guillermo del Toro does a great job of telling a unique story through different mediums. All around an entertaining piece of work.