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The Devil's Backbone (DVD)
by SWSt
I'm sure that somewhere along the line Guillermo del Toro has directed a bad film, but if so, I am yet to see it. On the whole, his films tend to be interesting, intelligent, dark and mildly spooky. The Devil's Backbone, one of his earlier works to get a wider release outside Spain, fits the template perfectly.
Set during the ... Spanish Civil War, it follows the fate of Carlos who is taken to an orphanage following the death of his father. There he discovers that a young boy went missing in mysterious circumstances and many believe that his ghost haunts the building. Meanwhile, Carlos has difficulty fitting into his new surroundings when one of the older boys, Jaime, takes a dislike to him.
The look and feel of The Devil's Backbone instantly pins it as a del Toro film. The Civil War setting, momentous events seen through the eyes of a child, the muted colours and depressed imagery combined with a mild supernatural element all betray its origins. This gives the film a hauntingly familiar feel (in every sense of the word); a feeling that we have been here before and that this is somehow connected to with all del Toro's other films.
There is a danger that repeating common themes or ideas like this could become repetitive and point to a lack of originality. In the hands of a master film maker like del Toro, however, this pitfall is avoided, and whilst there are clear overlaps The Devil's Backbone stands apart as a film in its own right.
Del Toro's strength lies in two key areas. Firstly, he tells a very simple story in a relatively complex way. Whenever you watch one of his films, you are never quite sure where he is going to take you or, for much of the film, what is actually going on or how the different parts of the jigsaw fit together. His genius is in taking a simple story, then playing around with the chronology so that (for example) you see the ending before you understand what it means. It always gives you the feeling that you have come in part-way through a story and have to catch up.
In the wrong hands, this could be frustrating and confusing. In The Devil's Backbone, it is hugely atmospheric. You genuinely feel that these characters are real people, that they have already lived large parts of their lives and witnessed significant events that you were not privy to. This adds to the atmosphere and characters, making it far more intriguing.
Secondly, he blends genres beautifully, blurring the edges between different types of film. The Devil's Backbone is a horror film for people who don't like horror; a ghost story for people who don't like ghost stories; a period drama for those who don't like period dramas. It is all of these things and yet none of them because del Toro uses the bits he wants from each, without becoming a slave to the formula of any. He takes genres we are familiar with and subverts them or gives them his own unique twist.
Again there is a danger to this. The Devil's Backbone might be pinned as a "horror film", but it lacks any real gore or truly scary moments; it might be labelled a "ghost" story, but whilst there is a supernatural element, it's not necessarily the most important part. And whilst it is set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, this is there merely to add a bit of context rather than the film being a period drama as such.
There's a danger that The Devil's Backbone could attract fans of all these different genres and end up appealing to none. In fact, del Toro blends them perfectly to tell a hugely atmospheric tale where each of the elements assume greater or lesser importance as the story progresses. It makes for a very satisfying tale. Rather than being nothing to anyone, it ends up being all things to all people.
In fact, you could even argue that The Devil's Backbone is none of these thing and that it actually belongs in a fourth genre: the coming of age tale where a group of young boys are forced to become men, put aside their superficial differences and fight against a common enemy.
The cast will not be one which is familiar to British eyes, but they perform their duties well. There is no real standout and many of the characters could be accused of bordering on stereotypes (the kindly doctor, the greedy young gun, the nervous new boy). What's important is that as a group the actors work well. The closest to a stand-out is Federico Luppi as the principled and decent Dr Casares, but Inigo Garces and Fernando Tielve are both excellent as young boys Jaime and Carlos respectively. These three give the film its heart, but are ably supported by the rest of the cast.
The Devil's Backbone is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. As noted above, it's a typical del Toro film - very much a slow burner, with little by way of action or scares. It relies on generating a tense atmosphere making the viewer believe that anything might happen, even if most of the time it does not. Those brought up on the over the top shocks of Hollywood may mis-interpret "slow burning" as boring, since it doesn't provide the shocks that British or US audiences expect from this type of film.
If you are after a typically high quality del Toro film that blends and transcends a number of different genres, The Devil's Backbone is well worth watching. It might not quite match the heights or imagination of Pan's Labyrinth, but it has the same assured sense of storytelling.
Basic Information
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The Devil's Backbone
2001
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Running time: approx. 106 minutes
Certificate: 15
© Copyright SWSt 2013
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The Forsaken (DVD)
by GentleGenius
RELEASED: 2001, Cert. 18
RUNNING TIME: Approx. 90 mins
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: J S Cardone
PRODUCERS: Scott Einbinder & Carol Kottenbrook
MUSIC: Tim Jones & Johnny Lee Schell
MAIN CAST:-
Kerr Smith as Sean
Brendan Fehr as Nick
Izabella Miko as ... Megan
Johnathon Schaech as Kit
Phina Oruche as Cym
Simon Rex as Pen
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FILM ONLY REVIEW
Film editor Sean takes a one-off paid job of driving a very expensive Mercedes, with the aim of delivering it to its owner in Florida. After receiving stern warnings from his boss not to damage the car in any way, Sean promises to look after it and drive carefully. Sean is also planning, whilst in Florida, to attend his sister's wedding, and the money earned from driving the car will help him buy her a present.
Whilst on a desert road, Sean picks up Nick, a hitchhiker, who is on a strange mission. As the pair continues to travel, they encounter Megan, a distraught young girl who appears to be very ill, so they take her on board. It is then that Nick reveals he is a vampire hunter, on the trail of a group of bloodthirsty travellers who drift around on the desert roads at night, hunting for prey.
Nick and Sean keep Megan with them as bait, whilst struggling to keep her alive, in order to track down the vampires with the intention of killing off their leader.
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The Forsaken begins pretty ordinarily, with Sean being given dire warnings not to damage the car he is driving across the USA to Florida, then picking up hitchhiker Nick...but he does have a sort of a supernatural experience when he first gets on the desert road, whereby a group of girls pass him in another car, flirting with him. Their car vanishes, right in front of Sean's eyes. I found that to be quite a good touch to have early on in the film, and it alerted my interest.
One thing I did hate about parts of The Forsaken is sections of the music. Some of it is OK, being avant-garde and very suited to the storyline, even if much too loud, but the remainder is, especially during the first quarter or so of the film, utterly raucous death-metal which did a good job of shredding my nerves to ribbons.
The acting, although not up to Oscar standard, is surprisingly good in The Forsaken, with Kerr Smith as Sean and Brendan Fehr as Nick working very well together. I also loved Johnathon Schaech as Kit, the truly weird leader of the gang of vampires. He came across as rather disturbing and very strange, but in a way which isn't reminiscent of how vampires are usually portrayed, he almost appearing benevolent at times...although later on, he delivers some exquisite pieces of nastiness.
There is not a dull moment in The Forsaken, and it certainly is a different kettle of fish from standard vampire films, in that it approaches the subject from an unusual angle. It also is an extremely well put together film, which although I suspect it may have been made on a tight budget, managed to create something very interesting, original and watchable. I would describe it as sinister, rather than scary though.
The ending is quite dramatic, and probably much too far over the top, but is still gripping, with that ending being very well constructed.
Overall, I found The Forsaken to be a good film, with the vampire element put across in a different and interesting way. The acting was good throughout, but I really could have given the death-metal parts of the soundtrack the elbow. That style of music I suppose does fit what happens in the film from time to time, but my brain just couldn't cope with it.
I do think I may like to watch this film again at some point in the future, as although it's by no means perfect, it has more than enough going for it to draw me in for second helpings. For anybody who feels they may like to see The Forsaken, I'd urge staying with it because although from the outset it appears as if it might be one of these run of the mill 'teenagers stranded in the desert' tales which make some of us groan inwardly, thinking "Oh no not again!!!", this one is definitely very different.....also, highly entertaining.
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At the time of writing, The Forsaken can be purchased on Amazon as follows:-
New: from £1.04 to £27.44
Used: from 1p to £3.50
Collectible: only one copy currently available @ £5.99 (appears to be used)
Some items on Amazon are available for free delivery within the UK, but where this doesn't apply, a £1.26 charge should be added to the above figures.
Thanks for reading!
~~ Also published on Ciao under my CelticSoulSister user name ~~
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