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The Devil's Backbone

2001
Become a fan of its genres:
7.3/10

Release Date

20/04/2001

Popularity

🍅 Rotten Tomatoes
93%
🎬 Internet Movie Database
73%
Ⓜ️ Metacritic
78%

What is a ghost?

Spain, 1939, the last year of the Spanish Civil War. Young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, an imposing building isolated in the middle of a desolate moor. It is run by Doctor Casares and Teacher Carmen, who take in the children in a place where the war can be felt in every corner. There he meets Jacinto, the maintenance man, a former orphan of the house who lives with the teacher Conchita and keeps everything running smoothly. Carlos goes from being a newcomer to a boy without a family, and soon he begins to sense a presence that follows him through the hallways. The film is directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega and Federico Luppi.

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Facts about The Devil's Backbone

Releases, age ratings, box office, post-credit scenes and more.

Post-credits sceneNone
Age ratingNot recommended for viewers under 12 years old
Spain releaseApril 20, 2001
Runtime1 h 48 min
Original LanguageSpanish
CountriesSpain, Mexico
Production companiesTequila Gang, Anhelo Productions, El Deseo
Budget$4.5M
Worldwide box office$6.6M
Return on investmentx1.5 Recouped the investment
Trailer views59K

More ratings

3.8/5Letterboxd73/100Trakt7.5/10Metacritic (público)3.0/4Roger Ebert

The Devil's Backbone Cast

Marisa Paredes
Marisa ParedesCarmen
Eduardo Noriega
Eduardo NoriegaJacinto
Federico Luppi
Federico LuppiDr. Casares
Fernando Tielve
Fernando TielveCarlos
Íñigo Garcés
Íñigo GarcésJaime
Irene Visedo
Irene VisedoConchita
José Manuel Lorenzo
José Manuel LorenzoMarcelo
Francisco Maestre
Francisco Maestre'El Puerco'
Junio Valverde
Junio ValverdeSanti
Berta Ojea
Berta OjeaAlma
Adrián Lamana
Adrián LamanaGálvez
Daniel Esparza
Daniel EsparzaMarcos
Miguel Ortiz
Miguel OrtizDomínguez
Juan Carlos Vellido
Juan Carlos VellidoAyala
Javier Bódalo
Javier Bódalo'Búho'
Víctor Elías
Víctor ElíasOrphan

Cast of The Devil's Backbone also appears in these series

Cast of The Devil's Backbone by the numbers

32average cast age in years
28years of age gap between the leads
20%women in the cast
25%women in the crew

The youngest in the main cast: Junio Valverde, age 10 at release. The oldest: Federico Luppi, at 65.

Cast ages at release

  • Marisa Paredes55 years old
  • Eduardo Noriega27 years old
  • Federico Luppi65 years old
  • Fernando Tielve14 years old
  • Íñigo Garcés13 years old
  • Irene Visedo22 years old
  • José Manuel Lorenzo41 years old
  • Francisco Maestre43 years old
  • Junio Valverde10 years old

Crew

  • AddressGuillermo del Toro
  • WritingGuillermo del Toro, David Muñoz, Antonio Trashorras
  • MusicJavier Navarrete
  • PhotographyGuillermo Navarro
  • EditingLuis de la Madrid
  • Production designCésar Macarrón
  • CastingSara Bilbatúa
  • ProductionAgustín Almodóvar, Bertha Navarro

Trivia about The Devil's Backbone

The DDT Studios in Barcelona created the final version of Santi, the weeping ghost boy, whose tomb looked like cracked, aged porcelain.
The title was going to be taken from a Mexican mountain range of the same name, but it was changed when the film was set in Spain. The final name comes from a liquor belonging to the doctor.
Del Toro wrote an early draft before his debut, Cronos (1993), set during the Mexican Revolution and featuring a "Christ with three arms" instead of a childlike ghost.
The film ranked 61 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments list, thanks to the various scenes in which the ghost appears.

Sources: Wikipedia (English)

What it's about The Devil's Backbone

spainorphanagespanish civil war (1936-39)gothic horrorghostpolitical repression1930sisolated placesupernatural beingghost child

Main theme: Spanish Civil War

What The Devil's Backbone is called in other countries

It was released in 30 countries, each in its own language.

  • SpainEl espinazo del diablo
  • United KingdomThe Devil's Backbone
  • FranceL'Échine du diable
  • GermanyDas Rückgrat des Teufels
  • ItalyLa spina del diavolo
  • BrazilA Espinha do Diabo
  • PortugalNas Costas do Diabo
  • Japanデビルズ・バックボーン
  • South Korea악마의 등뼈
  • China鬼童院
  • RussiaХребет дьявола
  • BulgariaГръбнакът на дявола
See the remaining 18 countries
  • CroatiaĐavolja kralježnica
  • CzechiaĎáblova páteř
  • DenmarkThe Devil's Backbone
  • FinlandThe Devil's Backbone
  • GreeceΣτη ράχη του διαβόλου
  • Hong Kong鬼童院
  • HungaryÖrdöggerinc
  • Israelילדים של אף אחד
  • LithuaniaVelnio stuburas
  • NorwayDjevelens ryggrad
  • PolandKręgosłup diabła
  • SlovakiaDiablova chrbtica
  • SwedenThe Devil's Backbone
  • Taiwan神鬼第六感2:魔鬼之心
  • Thailandเด็กผีวิญญาณพยาบาท
  • TurkeyŞeytanın Bel Kemiği
  • UkraineХребет диявола
  • VietnamXương Quỷ​

Where it was filmed The Devil's Backbone

Filming

Filming locations

Source: Wikidata. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

The Devil's Backbone Stats

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Popularity of The Devil's Backbone

28KWikipedia views (30 days)
▲ 78%compared to the previous month

Daily visits to their English Wikipedia article over the last 60 days.

Where to Watch The Devil's Backbone

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More info and links

Soundtrack from The Devil's Backbone

Original music by Javier Navarrete

Find the soundtrack on your streaming platform: