#16 The Devil's Backbone - From Director Guillermo del Toro

The man who lensed Blade 2 and Cronos tells a more personal tale in this ghost story set against the backdrop of the Spanish civil war. Blade 2, basically a work for hire, was frenetic, stylish and unabashedly shallow. The Devil's Backbone is populated by a cast of well-drawn characters, mainly the orphans of Communist sympathizers and their keepers. The haunting is elegantly presented and uses special effects in an eerie and unobtrusive way. The effectiveness of this film has me more excited than ever for del Toro's dream projects; a live action version of Hellboy and an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness.