The story follows Dr Faraday (Domnhall Gleeson), a physician who is called to attend a patient at Hundreds Hall, the dilapidated family home of the once aristocratic Ayres family who have fallen on hard times, and whose fates seem to be entwined with that of the house. In many ways it’s a ghost story without an actual ghost, although the supernatural elements are left largely ambiguous. The film adaptation of Sarah Water’s The Little Stranger(UK, Lenny Abrahamson, 2018) does just this, although for the most part you are led to believe it’s a much more traditional narrative. However, while the ghosts in Del Toro’s film do subvert expectations, they still fit with our preconceived ideas of what makes a ghost.īut what about a film that doesn’t feature ghostly apparitions, anyone returning from beyond the grave, nor any of the iconic imagery associated with the word ‘ghost’ and really challenges this notion of what a ghost is? Can it still be said to be a ghost story? A haunting and often philosophical exploration into what constitutes a ghost, Del Toro’s film features ghosts in different roles, as ominous harbingers of things to come, of protectors of the weak, and as avenging spirits. T he opening narration of The Devil’s Backbone establishes the central premise of the film with this question.
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