Mike Flanagan’s Favorite Guillermo del Toro Film is Streaming Now
When Doctor Sleep and The Haunting of Hill House filmmaker Mike Flanagan first joined Letterboxd, he graced users with a remarkable list of his favorite horror movies of all time. Better still, the list is organized chronologically, starting with the most recent releases and going all the way through the classics of the genre. 2024 hits Exhuma, Oddity, and The First Omen have made the cut, and older titles like Black Sunday, The Innocents, and Dead of Night round out the earlier decades. One particular standout is arguably Guillermo del Toro’s best. I’m talking, of course, about The Devil’s Backbone, which is now streaming free on Peacock.
Per Peacock: After losing his father, 10-year-old Carlos arrives at an ominous boys’ orphanage where he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets.
Guillermo del Toro helmed The Devil’s Backbone right in the middle of his early aughts English-language slate. His previous feature, the infamously constrained Mimic, came out four years before, and del Toro’s next two features would be both Blade II and Hellboy. It earnestly feels like The Devil’s Backbone was the movie del Toro was always meant to make, even eclipsing (in my opinion) Pan’s Labyrinth as his true masterpiece.
In fact, that title feels like a spiritual successor to the precise merging of tragic humanity and classic gothic horror that rendered The Devil’s Backbone such a success. Shades of the feature resonate strongly across the entirety of Guillermo del Toro’s filmmaking career. There would be no Crimson Peak and no The Shape of Water were it not for The Devil’s Backbone.
It’s no surprise, then, to see Mike Flanagan rank it among one of his favorites of all time. Don’t worry, though—Pan’s Labyrinth is also featured (and you can catch that film streaming free on Tubi). With his forthcoming Frankenstein adaptation, it’s easy to see just how far the Oscar-winning filmmaker has come, though The Devil’s Backbone deserves to remain a consistent part of the conversation. It’s not just the filmmaker’s best film—it’s arguably one of the greatest ghost stories ever told. There really aren’t many movies out there like it, and personally, it’s one I look forward to revisiting every chance I get.
What do you think? Do you agree with Mike Flanagan? Among Guillermo del Toro’s filmography, where does The Devil’s Backbone rank for you? Be certain to let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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