The Devil's Backbone

10 yr-old Carlos arrives at a Spanish school sheltering the orphans of the Republican militia only to discover it has many supernatural secrets.

...del Toro formår den sjældne kunst at forene den rendyrkede pulp med troværdige personskildringer, nervepirrende spænding og en ekstremt veludviklet visuel sans.

...nothing if not exquisitely detailed: It's like a blood orange that del Toro spends the film seductively unpeeling, revealing layer upon layer of meaning and pathos.