This is a chilling and suspenseful drama/ horror from Guillermo Del Toro (Hell Boy/ Pan's Labyrinth) about a boy in a haunted orphanage during the Spanish Civil War.

In this prequel to "Pan's Labyrinth" comes "The Devil's Backbone". The Devil's Backbone takes place during the Spanish Civil War where a young boy is left at an orphanage and discovers a ghost. Who is this ghost and what does he want? Watch it and find out. (via Netflix)

This little known 2001 gem by director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) is set during the Spanish Civil War, and follows an orphaned boy as he adjusts to life in an unstable school run by sympathizers with the Republican Army. It’s also got an amputee headmistress, the ghost of a child gone missing, and an unexploded bomb roosting in the courtyard. The gothic horror of the Devil’s Backbone lies not in the undead, but in the very real brutality of war. (via amazon.com)

You've probably heard of Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's award-winning critically-adored fantastical frightener. The Devil's Backbone is the movie he made before Pan's Labyrinth.

It's been described as "a movie with ghosts in it" (rather than a ghost movie) and that's an important distinction. Set at an isolated orphanage during the Spanish Civil War, a level of tension exists that has very little to do with anything supernatural. Stylish in a very classic sense, spooky and twisty, it's much more than a horror film, despite how it's been marketed in North America. It's a fantastic film and one of my must-sees.