The Devil's Backbone is a diamond in the rough. It's hard to blame critics and viewers for dismissing what may be the best film of 2001, when director Guillermo del Toro was also responsible this year's Blade II.

However, the faliciously hyped Snipes film is sure to be forgotten, while Backbone may be del Toro's key to cinematic immortality.

The story, penned by del Toro and Antonio Trashorras, centers on 10-year old Carlos, whose father is killed in the war, thus sending him to an isolated orphanage in the desert. Carlos finds himself surrounded by several misfit orphans, dysfunctional elders, a depraved handyman, an unexploded bomb, a mysterious ghost, and an unknown evil. The sum of these parts results in a story of intrigue and intellect, with a delicious dash of horror.

The beauty of the film, in addition to its cinematic shots and masterful editing, is the extreme brilliance of the plot. This original screenplay surely made novelists and publishers cringe. It combines the depth of a great philosophical novel, the gravity of history, and the fascination of a Stephen King tale.

Ultimately, viewers receive an education on the Spanish Civil War and a renewed awareness of the plight of humanity all in the form of a mouth-watering thriller.