Everyone loves a good horror film--most people do. I'm not too big of a horror guy but even for those who are there is always one common problem with the horror genre.Is it scary?
If a film is advertised as a horror film we expect it to be scary when we go see it. If it is not scary then we discredit it as a horror film.
This week I viewed the Guillero del Toro film, The Devil's Backbone. As we see in the DVD cover to the left, one may think that the film is going to be a horror film.
Besides the ghost aspect, the setting may be the film's best shot at being a horror film. This orphanage that Carlos is put in looks creepy and is isolated in a desert in Spain. There is nothing in sight except this orphanage. This gives the film great opportunity for horror and suspense. However, I found more drama with some suspense.
The ghost aspect is great. There is nothing wrong with that other than it's the most unoriginal piece of horror ever. But everyone loves a great ghost story.
The genre of this film can be summed up with one quote. When Casares is talking to Carlos and says the name of the film. "The devil's backbone. Children who should never have been born." The last part is what Carlos is trying to figure out. He has just lost his father and is attempting to find our his purpose. He is at the age where he really begins to grow up. Therefore, I found the film more about Carlos and his internal journey rather than ghosts and fear.
Dictionary.com defines horror film as, "Motion picture calculated to cause intense repugnance, fear, or dread."
Dictionary.com defines drama film as, "A film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes."
By definition and my own opinion, I found that The Devil's Backbone is not necessarily a horror film, rather a drama film with strong suspense elements in it.
Agreed!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even mention drama in my blog post. Now I kind of want to go add to it, ha!
I was very much relieved when I found out it wasn't actually that horrific. Really, the bloody wounds were worse to me than the ghost.
Were you irritated by the inconsistency with the ghost? When Santi is first seen, he's translucent, but he's always solid from then on. Honestly, when I first saw him close up, that was my first thought, rather than fear.