Dull ghost story with half-hearted commentary on the Spanish Civil War. The whole thing seems to exist to prop up a few nifty special effects and a vague sense of atmosphere. I struggled to maintain interest... the characters are bland, the scares entirely absent (unless you have a weak stomach for mildly gory bits), the story feels slapped together from fragments of ideas. There's a reveal that I suppose is meant to be a surprise twist, but it's pretty obvious from the first act. It's just really hard to care about what's going on, and there's not much going on anyway. Carlos approaches the ghost and then gets scared and runs away. Creepy Eli Roth-looking dude does something nasty. Repeat, repeat, repeat. While the craftsmanship is somewhat impressive, it's an empty experience, free of passion, wisdom or thrills.
Review of The Devil's Backbone
