Whilst watching this, you can really see that The Devil's Backbone is like a rough sketch for Del Toro's later, more successful film, Pan's Labyrinth. From the very beginning, with the narrator questioning us what a ghost is, there is an eerie, uneasy atmosphere, and within five minutes of the film you're already asking questions.
The film revolves around the mystery of Santi, the ghost of a schoolboy who mysteriously died not long before Carlos, the main character, joins the poorly-run orphanage in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The Devil's Backbone also dips into thrilling sub-plots involving money, deceit and sexual relationships.
Although it is mainly based on the ghost of Santi and the horrors that surround him, the film gives you a good insight into what being a child during the time of the Civil War was like.
With a storyline that is gripping from beginning to end, twists that you really do not expect and even some pretty horrific gore, this film is a definite must-see, especially for fans of psychological thrillers such as "The Others", "The Orphanage" and "The City of Lost Children".

I walked into the cinema with high hopes for an intreguing fast paced action movie from a crytically acclaimed director (arguably one of the greatest visual directors of the last decade). I walked out of cinema thinking wow... I actually payed for that crap...

The plot of the sequal follows much the same outline as that of the original Hellboy, with the main character (Hellboy) facing some form of supernatural challenge, stuggling to overcome it and finally beating it. New characters are also introduced, and the plot helps to expand and deepen the 'Hellboy' universe, exploring new and colourful characters.

Hellboy 2 has been subject to mixed opinion, reviews ranging from 1 star to 9, but I can say with certainty that this is one of the worst films I've seen in a while. It has been claimed that this film is deliberatley over the top, that it is almost a parody of its own genre. Its not guys, give it up.

The thing that really made this film dissapointing... no... a complete waste of money was a combined effort by the writers and the actors. The dialogue was the worst I've seen in a film, as listening to conversation between characters (don't be fooled, there was little or no characterisation) became a chore. The dialogue simply didn't flow, and the acting was incredibly poor... comical even.

Guillame del toro's directing abilities, possibly the only reason I decided to see that film, cannot make up for such a poor story line, and with the exception of character design, I could not see much evidence of his influence at all.

The plot made no sense.... the ending of the film left me stunned, as all the characters quit there 'secret goverment orginisation' to, I quote, 'find a house in the country...' or some stupid thing... He's a GIANT RED DEVIL. His credentials include having a big fist and being red. Where the hell is he gonna get the money????