First published 2017
Matt Zoller Seitz takes readers behind the cameras of Guillermo del Toro's 2001 film The Devil's Backbone. Seitz draws on extensive interviews with del Toro himself, revealing how the director's personal trauma shaped this ghost story set during the Spanish Civil War. The book explores del Toro's creative process and his ability to blend horror with beauty, positioning the film as a spiritual precursor to his later Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth. Seitz also interviews key collaborators including cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and composer Javier Navarrete, showing how each contributed to the film's gothic atmosphere. The volume includes concept art and behind-the-scenes photography that document the movie's creation. Seitz examines del Toro's influences and his approach to filmmaking, particularly how he uses the Spanish Civil War setting to explore themes of innocence lost and ordinary people transformed by violence.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, horror, film
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: based-on-true-events, found-family
Setting: Spain
Period: 2001, Spanish Civil War
160 pages · Hardcover · Insight Editions
Content warnings: violence, war