#El Espinazo del Diablo

[boy-mycelium]

Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997) // The Devil's Backbone (2001)

[jingyismom]

What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber.

– The Devil's Backbone (2001)

[lady-of-the-spirit]

When the ghost is a tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again, when the ghost is an instant of pain, when the ghost is something dead which still seems to be alive, when the ghost is an emotion suspended in time, when the ghost is like a blurred photograph, when the ghost is like an insect trapped in amber

[slutmenstra]

guillermo del toro depicting the heavy burden of money and the way it corrupts those who lust after it as an actual weight (i.e. the weight in carmen's prosthetic; the weight that buries jacinto underwater) mmm mmm yummy symbolism thank you sir ill have another

[cinemaquiles]

CINCO FILMES ESPANHOIS COM TEMÁTICA DE FANTASMAS

[sistinad]

¿Qué es un fantasma? Un evento terrible condenado a repetirse una y otra vez. Un instante de dolor quizá, algo muerto, que parece por momentos vivo aún. Un sentimiento suspendido en el tiempo, como una fotografía borrosa, como un insecto atrapado en ámbar. Un fantasma. Eso soy yo.

El espinazo del diablo, Guillermo del Toro.

[ulrichgebert]

In El espinazo del diablo, einem frühen von diesen eleganten, cleveren Gruselfilmen von Guillermo del Toro erscheint, als wäre das Leben in Waisenhaus während des spanischen Bürgerkriegs nicht schlimm genug, auch noch der Geist eines kleines Jungen. Das ist allerdings längst nicht das unheimlichste.

[lafcadiosadventures]

thanks for the tag, @sainteverge ^_^

rules: list your five all time favorite films and have people vote on which one matches your vibe. (gah. only five?! ok here goes:)

tagging: @saltedpin @squidsploitation @glamgothhobbit @flo-nelja @counterwiddershins +anyone who wants to do thisss

[thorsenmark]

Pico de Cerda and Other High Points of the Sierra del Carmen (Big Bend National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At a roadside pull off along the main park road heading to the Boquillas Canyon with a view looking to the east. My thinking in composing this image was to get down low and more or less have a leveled on view, using the road and center stripe as a leading line to first, the tunnel with ridge, and then the ridgelines and peaks leading off into Mexico in the upper portion of the image.

[morvantmortuary]

my buddy @bigtiddythanos asked a while ago about what our OCs’ Top 4 on Letterboxd would be, and I needed something to do with my hands while I finally got around to watching maxxxine last night, so I actually went ahead and made them! and here they are, bc why not!

Necromancer Top 4s:

(eta: this is rae from the future, I had to come back and swap this .gif out, you’ll see why lmao)

Maxi -

Candyman (1992), Harold and Maude (1971), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), and yes, Phantom of the Opera (2004), which just narrowly beat out Silence of the Lambs and the Vincent Price House on Haunted Hill. He’ll never say no to a rewatch of the Final Destination series, either — they’re his version of the Fast and the Furious. the way he giggles at some parts is somehow both unsettling and endearing at the same time.

(‘is hex being shirtless relevant’ yes. it’s the only way he watches movies. ‘really?’ ssssh.)

Hex -

El Espinazo del Diablo/The Devil’s Backbone (2001), The Sixth Sense (1999), Peeping Tom (1960), and El Orfanto/The Orphange (2007), which just edged out Talk to Me (2022) and Savageland (2015). He will happily tell you why the latter is deeply underrated if you finally agree to watch it with him, but it will take about an hour after the movie ends for him to finish. (He’s not wrong though, imo 👀)

(here, rora’s shirtless-ish too look she’s very all or nothing this was the best I could do, we’re equal opportunity shirtless enjoyers!)

Rora -

she wore out her VHS of the original Carrie (1976) when she was alive, so that’s at the top of her list. the rest are The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), and Black Swan (2010), which she thankfully only would’ve discovered after she came back to life, otherwise it would’ve been her whole personality in high school. She also would love May (2002) and Excision (2012), both of which might hit a little too close to home in different ways :’D

(these necromancers just can’t watch movies with their shirts on! for real!!)

Seth -

The Wizard of Oz (1939), Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). He also loves the high drama and spectacle of DeMille’s Cleopatra (1934) and Lang’s Metropolis (1927). If you jokingly ask him if he’s seen any movies in the last century or so, he’ll just blink at you, thinking, then be like “…I thought the 1989 interpretive dance remake of Dr. Caligari was good? :D” or ask if you want to watch the Cabaret with Liza Minelli in it. (He would go absolutely bonkers for the X trilogy, though, relating way too hard with Maxine Minx and Pearl.)

(does anyone in greymoon own a shirt?? who’s to say)

Bonus! Leon -

…he doesn’t know what Letterboxd is. :’D baby doll still has the most minimal version of a smartphone possible. as for movies, he’s happy to watch just about anything with you, but he’s impossible to watch either westerns or vampire movies with, as he usually points out what they’re getting wrong while chewing on what look like some home-made red vines he pulls out of his freezer. (Don’t ask.) He also talks like Lestat is a real person he actually knows and actively has beef with whenever you watch the Tom Cruise ‘90s version of Interview with the Vampire. you can’t tell if he’s doing a bit or not and you’re too afraid to ask, tbh??

anyway! thanks for humoring me! definitely google some of these before you watch them solo, bc they can be pretty scary or pretty bleak, depending or just. Not the Best Version of the Phantom, but Fine :’D

if anyone does their own OCs’ Top 4, I’d love to see it :3c

[theoutcastrogue]

Favorite movie from 01?

[Give me a year and I'll give you my favourite films / recommendations]

Perhaps "favourite" isn't the best word, perhaps the best word is "biggest obsession", but I have to go with Mulholland Drive. David Lynch is a very special case, you're either into him or you ain't, and arguments either way are of little use. I just want to note 2 things, about Lynch in general and Mulholland in particular:

Contrary to all appearances, it actually makes sense. It may be a weird sense, a dream sense (literally a dream, for like half of this movie), but it's not random.

It doesn't need to make sense to you to be enjoyable. It's perfectly cool to treat it like a trip, and just get lost in the highway sauce. You can revisit it later, and think about it and look up what others have made of it, but it's optional.

Now, these 4 are my favourite 2001 films:

Spirited Away needs no introduction, it's widely thought as the best Ghibli film, and I love it to bits.

I'm a complete sucker for Moulin Rouge! and for truth! beauty! freedom! love!, and will accept no criticism at this time.

El espinazo del diablo (The Devil's Backbone) is early Guillermo del Toro, and a sort of prelude to Pan's Labyrinth: it's horror, it's set during the Spanish Civil War, and it takes a stance, along with its own supernatural elements.

And I simply adore Hedwig and the Angry Inch (second musical lol). Does that need an introduction, on 2024 tumblr?

Also of interest:

Monster's Ball is the best from the rest, an incredible drama with Halle Berry's best performance. Very disturbing from start to finish. "Billy Bob Thornton plays a prison guard who begins a relationship with a woman (Halle Berry), unaware that she is the widow of a man (Sean Combs) he assisted in executing."

Ocean's Eleven is the fully on-brand film, it pretty much defined what modern American heist films should be like. No small feat!

Das Experiment: so the Stanford experiment inspired some notoriously bad takes, not least by Zimbardo himself. It also inspired this amazing film. Please don't bother with the pointless American remake. (I owe tumblr a serious post about the Stanford experiment btw, but this is not the place.)

The Brotherhood of the Wolf is surely the wackiest AND darkest action / horror / period / swashbukcling / wuxia / monster film out there. We're in 18th century France, there's the legendary beast of Gévaudan, and cults, and spies, and all of the above.

Il mestiere delle armi (The Profession of Arms) is a shoutout to @wearemercs, it's a realistic war film with landsknechts and condottieri in 16th century Italy, we don't see that every day.

@feyariel I remember that Metropolis was wonderful and I loved it, but not much else about it. Sorry, it's been a while and I have shit for memory!

Monsters, Inc.: not best Pixar, but good Pixar

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: can't leave this one out!

The Man Who Wasn't There: excellent neo-noir by the Cohens

Gosford Park: a whodunit set at an English country house, and the polar opposite of Downton Abbey (which goes at great lengths to convince us that masters deserve their servants' loyalty), ironically written by the same person

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie): here begin the films that were adored back then, especially by the artsy/festival crowd, but I haven't seen them since and I've no idea how they've aged

Ghost World: based on the comic book by Daniel Clowes

Waking Life: Linklater, philosophy, rotoscope, Ethan Hawke's there, oh my!

Y tu mamá también: Alfonso Cuarón, road trips, sex, young Diego Luna, young Gael García Bernal, oh my!

Ichi the Killer: by Takashi Miike, based on Hideo Yamamoto's manga. do not watch this if you're not completely sure you wanna watch this lol

[soeurdelune]

parce qu'on approche doucement mais sûrement de la spooky season 🎃, c'est l'occasion de parfaire votre culture en films d'horreur! voici une petite sélection de 10 diamants du genre, visionnables gratuitement sur youtube (et sous titrés en anglais pour ceux en langue étrangère! que demande le peuple...) il va sans dire que l'horreur étant un genre parfois costaud, pensez à vérifier vos triggers pour chaque film sur le site does the dog die?

carnival of souls, 1962 (vo: anglais américain), une masterclass, un des premiers grand films d'horreur moderne, il a inspiré des réalisateurs comme david lynch ou james wan. (la note de lune: 5/5)

el espinazo del diablo (l'échine du diable), 2001 (vo: espagnol), personne ne raconte une histoire de fantômes comme guillermo del toro, un très beau film qui inaugure sa trilogie de la guerre civile, à suivre avec le labyrinthe de pan et son pinocchio de 2022. (la note de lune: 4/5)

a tale of two sisters, 2003 (vo: coréen), des influences gothiques saisissantes et une histoire aux allures de diabolique petit puzzle. (la note de lune: 4/5)

ringu, 1998 (vo: japonais), un immense classique de la j-horror que l'on ne présente plus, efficace et très bien ficelé, featuring hiroyuki sanada ♥️ (la note de lune: 5/5)

the last man on earth, 1964 (vo: anglais américain), inspiré du roman i am legend qui a donné une palanquée d'adaptations au fil des années, celui-ci est de loin mon favori, vincent price est une ICÔNE et ce film est un pur plaisir à regarder. (la note de lune: 4/5)

kairo (pulse), 2001 (vo: japonais), un autre classique de la j-horror, l'ambiance est profondément troublante et mélancolique, avec des scènes qui vous hanteront pendant un bon moment. (la note de lune: 4/5)

hellraiser, 1987 (vo: anglais américain), tout le monde l'a probablement déjà vu mais la version youtube est tellement quali que je le mets ici quand même, pinhead est un méchant incroyable, le film a des défauts mais les qualités l'emportent sur le reste, un bijou de l'horreur un peu gory des 80s! (la note de lune: 3/5)

donnie darko, 2001 (vo: anglais américain), diffile à mettre dans une catégorie plutôt qu'une autre, un peu d'horreur mêlée à du thriller psychologique et une pointe de sci-fi, ça reste un classique au dénouement final incroyable. (la note de lune: 5/5)

one missed call, 2003 (vo: japonais), juré après j'arrête avec la j-horror, celui-ci est plus efficace dans sa seconde moitié que dans la première, il y a des moments qui font vraiment vraiment peur. (la note de lune: 3/5)

les yeux sans visage, 1960 (vo: français), avant la piel que habito d'almodovar, il y a eu les yeux sans visage, un petit précurseur considéré comme le premier film d'horreur moderne français. (la note de lune: 3/5)

[myteavsricochet]

Good Morning!

Since we've been on the topic of horror.

Have you ever watched spanish horror movies?

Guillermo Del Toro directed my favorite horror movies of all time.

El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone)

Cronos

El Orfanoto (The Orphanage)- which GDT only produced.

Just wondering if you seen any of them.

Have a lovely day, don't forget to drink plenty of water and that I adore you.

hi my love! ohhhh I love guillermo del toro 😭 the orphanage is one of my favorite films ever as well as crimson peak and mama (which he only produced though)

I haven't seen them all yet but it's definitely one of my favorites for the genre 😍

[discodeerdiary]

Watching Guillermo del Toro Pinocchio and wow the beginning hits harder if you've seen El Espinazo del Diablo

[squirrellyshorrorreviews]

The Devil's Backbone/ El espinazo del diablo (2001)

After Carlos - a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War - arrives at an ominous boys' orphanage, he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets which he must uncover.

Where to watch: Amazon (around $4)

rating: 8/10

I love this movie. I've loved this movie for a long time. Guillermo Del Toro does something with this movie that's just so, so good. Where Pan's Labyrinth added the mundane to the fantastic, this does the inverse. Adding a layer of fantasy to what is otherwise a very clear-cut story of corruption.

It's incredibly good. The child actors are delight. I watched this movie SOOOO much back when it was available on demand back in like 06 and it's always stuck with me as a personal favorite. It's just one of those movies that hit so good when I was a teenager and it still lives rent-free in my head.

If it winds up free on a streaming service, give it a watch. And even if you spend money to rent it, it won't be a waste of your money.

[edgarascensao]

Cronos turns 30.

I took advantage of the date to share a poster I did about 5 years ago, submitted for an artbook project that never went ahead. I also did another Guillermo del Toro alternative movie poster for El Espinazo del Diablo but I'll reveal that one another day.