Now is a perfect time to simply shit in your pants.

The Devil’s Backbone or El Espinazo Del Diablo (Go on and say it out loud.  It sounds cool!) is one of the creepiest, eeriest films I’ve ever seen.  In reality, the only thing that makes this a horror film is the appearance of a ghost!  For the most part, it’s a drama set during the Spanish Civil war.  Be warned, this is a foreign language(Spanish) movie with subtitles, so, if that’s not your thing….I don’t know…go watch that Rob Zombie Halloween remake or something!

Carlos is unceremoniously dropped off at an orphanage, not knowing that his father is dead.  He quickly learns a few things.  It sucks being the new kid.  The other kids will steal your shit.  And, the place is haunted.  There’s a pale, black eyed ghost of a boy who roams the halls.  The appearance of this boy is presaged by what appears to be floating motes, and he has a head wound that blood trickles UP out of.  Though this isn’t really a horror film, believe me, the first time you lay eyes on this kid, your hackles will be up (author note:  what the fuck are hackles, anyways?)

A former orphan is the handyman of the place, and you learn fairly quickly that he’s just a big piece of shit.  He beats the children, cheats on his girlfriend, and is trying to screw the orphanage out of its money, literally!  Before all is said and done, there is a battle for survival and not everyone will be making it out alive.

Director Guillermo Del Toro delivers a film that will stick with you after you’ve watched it.  The ghost boy roaming the halls is the stuff of pure nightmare, but, like he did later with Pan’s Labyrinth, he makes certain there is symmetry.  Yes, it’s scary at night, but the daytime can be even more frightening.  This one’s just as violent as Labyrinth, but there’s no hint of magic or make believe here.  Just people in a desperate situation trying to live, and the dead that watch and wait.

I caught this movie late night on IFC one night and watching it in the dark alone was a mistake.  I can say this for it.  No one I’ve shown this movie to has disliked it.  So, if you can, find it.  It’s not the easiest film to find, so you might have to spank netflix for it, but it is out there.

Waiting…in the dark.

(Note…you might have noticed that I didn’t reference actor’s names in this one.  This is not a sign of disrespect.  It would have simply taken too long to work out who was who.  You can find all information you need under the link at the top of the article)

$10 says the body of that dog turned up in one of his movies somewhere.

Today, director and non-English speaker Guillermo Del Toro turns 45.  I just wanted to say Happy Birthday, thanks for scaring the shit out of me all those times, and thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping practical special effects alive and well.   Speaking for all us film nerds out there, we all appreciate it!