The Devil's Backbone
Movie • 2001 • Drama
ReportSpain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.
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Your Triggers
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Unanswered Triggers
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Honkzilla
The primary antagonist suffered abuse and is extremely abusive (to the point of murder) of those around him
1 comment | Add comment
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Is trypophobic content shown?
27 supporters
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Honkzilla
I didn't notice any but I don't have trypophobia so I'm not hypervigilant for that kind of content
1 comment | Add comment
Abandonment
Does someone leave without saying goodbye?
6 supporters
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Honkzilla
A boy's tutor leaves him at an orphanage without informing him of his intention
1 comment | Add comment
Is a child abandoned by a parent?
1 supporters
Yes
4
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soravanitas
The movie is about orphans, but some of them are led to believe their parents are still alive and will come back to get them (I'm not sure if some of the boys were actually left there by their parents?)
2 comments | Add comment
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3
Abuse
Are there abusive parents?
1 supporters
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Honkzilla
The movie takes place in an orphanage and there are no parents present
1 comment | Add comment
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3
Is someone stalked?
22 supporters
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Honkzilla
You could make the argument that a ghost stalks living characters but there is no stalking in the predatory sense
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
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1
dtdd12345
Verbal
2 comments | Add comment
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soravanitas
I do not recommend this movie if you are sensitive to child abuse. The orphan boys are verbally and physically abused and threatened throughout the movie by the adult groundskeeper.
1 comment | Add comment
Addiction
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7
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7
Does someone abuse alcohol?
21 supporters
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8
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Honkzilla
A few characters drink during the movie but not to excess
1 comment | Add comment
Animal
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Are there bugs?
1 supporters
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soravanitas
There are also some flies towards the end of the movie that fly around and crawl on a dead man and his possessions
3 comments | Add comment
Assault
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Are there jokes about sexual assault on men?
59 supporters
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3
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Honkzilla
There are no jokes but there are references to a teenage boy being sexually abused by a female authority figure
1 comment | Add comment
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3
Bodily Harm
Is there shaving/cutting?
37 supporters
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Mulu
There's an intentional knife cut and accidental glass shards cuts.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone struggle to breathe?
30 supporters
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soravanitas
Several characters are seen struggling to breathe after falling into the water in the cistern
1 comment | Add comment
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Is someone burned alive?
52 supporters
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soravanitas
[SPOILERS]: There is a large explosion. Several people die from the blast, and you can see their charred bodies. Those that survived can be seen with burns on their skin.
1 comment | Add comment
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6
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Is there amputation?
33 supporters
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soravanitas
No amputation is seen but there is a woman with an already amputated leg
1 comment | Add comment
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Does someone become unconscious?
6 supporters
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soravanitas
[SPOILERS]: The doctor is knocked unconscious by the explosion, and a boy is pushed into a wall, hitting his head before losing consciousness.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone break a bone?
25 supporters
Yes
9
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2
dtdd12345
An ankle is dislocated and clicked back into place in a close up shot, without anaesthetic.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone have a seizure?
1 supporters
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6
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Honkzilla
A boy seems to twitch and convulse after receiving serious head trauma but it's unclear if it's a seizure
1 comment | Add comment
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Is there eye mutilation?
1 supporters
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soravanitas
No, but after a man gets hit in the face, his eye becomes very bloodshot and completely red. It stays that way all through the rest of the movie.
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone stabbed?
17 supporters
Yes
4
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Mulu
A woman is stabbed with a knife, and a man is pierced on several occurance with pikes.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there excessive gore?
108 supporters
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Honkzilla
There is some blood but no significant gore
1 comment | Add comment
Children
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4
Does a kid die?
1 supporters
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12
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Kelpy
SPOILERS
______
_______
______
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The main character is haunted by the ghost of a murdered child, several other children die throughout the movie.
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The main character is haunted by the ghost of a murdered child, several other children die throughout the movie.
1 comment | Add comment
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Creepy Crawly
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3
Death
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Disability
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Drugs/Alcohol
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Family
Does a parent die?
1 supporters
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6
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dtdd12345
The children are orphans but their parents' death is not discussed or shown.
1 comment | Add comment
Is a child's toy destroyed?
1 supporters
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1
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2
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soravanitas
The bully of the orphanage takes the main character's comic books and toys
1 comment | Add comment
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5
Does someone cheat?
21 supporters
Yes
8
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Honkzilla
Given the nature of the relationship, it's kind of a grey area between cheating and sexual abuse that began when one character was a teenager.
1 comment | Add comment
Fear
Are there ghosts?
8 supporters
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10
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Honkzilla
A ghost is central to the plot
1 comment | Add comment
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soravanitas
The doctor can be seen shaving with an old-fashioned razor
1 comment | Add comment
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3
Gross
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3
Does someone spit?
11 supporters
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soravanitas
Both are talked about, but you do actually see one character spit when he is sitting at a fire, and another man drools a lot after being hit in the face
1 comment | Add comment
Is there audio gore?
1 supporters
Yes
3
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Honkzilla
It's fairly mild
1 comment | Add comment
Large-scale Violence
Are there 9/11 depictions?
7 supporters
Yes
0
No
4
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Honkzilla
The movie is set during the Spanish Civil War, predating 9/11 by many decades
1 comment | Add comment
Law Enforcement
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5
Is there incarceration?
4 supporters
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2
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1
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Mulu
Children are locked in a room by the antagonists.
2 comments | Add comment
LGBTQ+
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3
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3
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3
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Loss
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3
Medical
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6
Are needles/syringes used?
38 supporters
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2
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4
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Honkzilla
A character receives stitches
2 comments | Add comment
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6
Is there a hospital scene?
1 supporters
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6
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Honkzilla
No hospital scenes, but characters receive first aid and minor medical treatment outside of a hospital setting
1 comment | Add comment
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3
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Mental Health
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3
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4
Does someone attempt suicide?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
85 supporters
Add comment
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4
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1
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3
Does someone say "I'll kill myself"?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
32 supporters
Add comment
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3
Yes
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3
Yes
0
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6
Is there a claustrophobic scene?
19 supporters
Yes
5
No
1
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IstariNarya
A boy gets stuck in a closet
1 comment | Add comment
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No
7
Does someone die by suicide?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
89 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Noxious
Are there underwater scenes?
10 supporters
Yes
3
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Honkzilla
There are multiple scenes inside a cistern full of water
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
3
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0
Yes
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6
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4
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0
Is there obscene language/gestures?
1 supporters
Yes
4
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Honkzilla
A lot of the cast consists of preteen or young teenage boys who talk about as vulgarly as you'd expect when adults aren't present. The groundskeeper and his friends are also pretty crude.
1 comment | Add comment
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Paranoia
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Pregnancy
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4
Does someone miscarry?
1 supporters
Yes
2
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8
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IstariNarya
No but you see a fetus in a jar.
1 comment | Add comment
Are there babies or unborn children?
1 supporters
Yes
3
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1
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RockyFennek
The doctor keeps various preserved fetuses in jars. One of them has severe spina bifida, and the doctor explains that the condition is sometimes called "the devil's backbone."
1 comment | Add comment
Is there childbirth?
1 supporters
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0
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9
1
cassandrasaurus
No but there are deceased fetuses.
1 comment | Add comment
Are there abortions?
1 supporters
Yes
2
No
7
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IstariNarya
No but you see dead fetuses in jars
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Prejudice
Are there homophobic slurs?
52 supporters
Yes
9
No
0
2
RockyFennek
The main character gets called "maricón" a few times by an older boy, which is the Spanish equivalent of the f-slur.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there ableist language or behavior?
43 supporters
Yes
1
No
3
0
Honkzilla
Some people call their extremely violent associate crazy
1 comment | Add comment
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6
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3
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7
Is there hate speech?
35 supporters
Yes
7
No
0
2
dtdd12345
The F-slur is used
1 comment | Add comment
Race
Yes
0
No
3
Relationships
Is there a large age gap?
37 supporters
Yes
5
No
0
1
RockyFennek
A man who looks to be in his mid-twenties is having an affair with a much-older woman. At the time of filming, the actress was roughly twice the actor's age.
2 comments | Add comment
Sex
Are there nude scenes?
53 supporters
Yes
1
No
2
0
Mulu
No genitals are shown.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
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No
4
Yes
0
No
3
Yes
1
No
2
Are there incestuous relationships?
National Sexual Assault Hotline 800.656.4673
94 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
9
No
0
Yes
0
No
3
Sexism
Yes
0
No
3
Sickness
Yes
0
No
3
Yes
0
No
3
Yes
0
No
3
Yes
0
No
4
Social
Yes
0
No
3
Spoiler
Yes
0
No
6
Does it have a sad ending?
1 supporters
Yes
5
No
1
1
Kelpy
It's a rather open ended but bleak ending. Not necessarily a "bad" ending, but whatever happens beyond the movie is not likely good.
1 comment | Add comment
Vehicular
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
6
Violence
Does someone drown?
1 supporters
Yes
9
No
1
1
Kelpy
Multiple scenes in the movie detail the same event of someone drowning.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there blood/gore?
1 supporters
Yes
8
No
0
2
dtdd12345
Various bloody wounds shown and violent scenes including a boy's face getting slashed by an adult, and a man getting piked to death, blood shown.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there a nuclear explosion?
1 supporters
Yes
3
No
6
3
dtdd12345
No, but there is an explosion from a fire
1 comment | Add comment
Is there gun violence?
1 supporters
Yes
8
No
0
1
dtdd12345
Prisoners of war are shot in a line at gunpoint
1 comment | Add comment
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