The devil's backbone's reviews

Del Toro builds excitement, dread, and melodrama in equal layers.

Building slowly from a stately start, Del Toro manages to unite all his disparate elements - ghosts and gold, infidelity and politics - for a devastating final reel. The command of sound and colour is breathtaking.

The movie is an expert, sunlit chiller audaciously predicated on an unquiet historical memory: "What is a ghost?".

Though it fails in its final reels to capitalize on its early promise, picture is still stylish, accomplished and tremendously enjoyable fare.