"He's a household name now after The Shape of Water and his new Frankenstein, but 25 years ago Guillermo del Toro was a virtual unknown, still bruised from the Harvey Weinstein-produced Hollywood flop Mimic. But, as this overlooked follow-up attests, he was always a class act. In fact, this is one of his best: a rich, rousing ghost story shrouded in trademark gothic gloom but executed with technical flair and a good deal of empathy."
"The setting is a middle-of-nowhere boys' orphanage in 1930s Spain, a leftist sanctuary from Franco's fascists during the civil war. Newcomer Carlos (Fernando Tielve) must find his feet in this semi-surreal realm, with an unexploded bomb in the middle of the courtyard, some kindly adults (one-legged Marisa Paredes and kindly doctor Federico Luppi), some not-so-kindly adults (aggressive caretaker Eduardo Noriega), and junior bullies to win over."
"There's also a ghost in the mix: a pale-faced boy named Santi, whose death no one seems to want to discuss, and to whose empty bed Carlos is ominously assigned. There are moments of eerie suspense as this nocturnal apparition stalks the corridors and lures Carlos down to the cellars; del Toro turns up the dread magnificently, with atmospheric lighting, sharp objects and babies pickled in jars."
A richly gothic ghost story set in a 1930s Spanish boys' orphanage during the civil war blends supernatural dread with political violence. A newcomer boy, assigned to the bed of a pale-faced ghost named Santi, encounters eerie nocturnal apparitions, atmospheric lighting, unsettling imagery and escalating suspense. Kind and cruel adults at the orphanage shape the children's safety and fears while the war closes in, making adult failings a source of true terror. The film balances part-horror, part-fairytale elements with unsentimental depictions of childhood and strong performances from the boy actors.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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