The Devil's Backbone

After the uninspired sophomore effort of Mimic, Guillermo Del Toro’s modest but emotional and affecting wartime ghost story represented an early career creative reboot of sorts. The Devil’s Backbone resounds best not so much for its genre scares or creature effects, but the effective point of view of children displaced by war and Del Toro’s distinctly gothic and disturbing take on the subject matter.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) dir. Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt

***1/2

“Hellboy II” had much of its thunder stolen this summer, having been released a week before “The Dark Knight”. It’s a shame because after making what possibly would be director Guillermo del Toro’s best film he’ll ever make, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, his follow-up film should have been a bigger deal than it was.

This has to do, in part, with the humility of the talented filmmaker. After the great success and numerous awards heaped upon his previous indie-art house hit, he did a 180 and went back into the comic book genre for another round of “Hellboy”. Of course, Del Toro’s no director for hire in this case, “Hellboy” is one of his passion projects and the evidence is all over the screen.

This second entry in the series begins with a flashback to Hellboy’s youth. His mentor Professor Bloom (John Hurt) tells the red boy a nightmarish bedtime story about an evil king and a golden army of mechanical warriors which lays dormant beneath the earth ready to be awakened. In the present the son of the King, Nuada, returns from exile along with his evil troll sidekick to reclaim his army and takeover the world.

The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense put their number one demon fighter, Hellboy, on the case (but really, is there anyone else for the job?). Returning to help him out are his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) who can turn herself into a fireball at will and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) a fishlike aquatic man who can breathe underwater.

Del Toro takes his time entertaining us with absurd comic interactions with the heroes before sending them off into the action scenes. Abe Sabian gets a significant romantic subplot with Nuada’s twin sister, and Liz and Hellboy continue their tempestuous relationship.

The plotting is minimal at best, but “Hellboy II” serves to let Del Toro run wild with his imagination and put to screen an astonishing array of fantastical creatures, underground worlds and gothic atmosphere dripping with life. The attention to detail with his rendering of the Troll Market as well as the giant tree monster which grows from underneath Manhattan to battle Hellboy has as much grandiose mythological wonder as anything in “Lord of the Rings”.

Of course, that’s exactly what Del Toro is tackling next, “The Hobbit”. And it’s a natural fit for him. While it’s exciting to see two great artists (Peter Jackson and Del Toro) collaborate on such a high level, part of me will miss the personal, idiosyncratic qualities of Del Toro’s choices of films. According to the IMDB Del Toro was twice offered a chance to make a Harry Potter film but in both cases turned it down to do his two “Hellboy” movies.

Since the Hobbit will take up many years of his working life, will we miss out on other personal films in the order of “Hellboy” or “Pan’s Labyrinth”?

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

PAN'S LABYRINTH

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) dir. Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú

****

Guillermo Del Toro’s film luscious and alluring gothic masterpiece is the pinnacle of fantasy filmmaking. It was sad to watch the disappointment on Del Toro’s face when “Lives of Others” was read out as the (albeit deserving) winner of the Best Foreign Language film Oscar last year. But it will take nothing away from "Pan's Labyrinth", which will remain a special film for a long time to come.

Where do I start praising this film? It’s the equivalent of a classic Grim’s fairytale – a fantastical story rooted in the reality of Earth. But like the Brother’s Grim, Del Toro sets his story in the darkest of places – in the desolate and dark forests of the Spanish countryside. It’s also WWII, a time of Fascist tyranny when the military exercised power with maximum cruelty.

Del Toro’s Red Riding Hood is Ofelia, a child who has arrived with her pregnant and widowed mother to live at an army barracks with her new stepfather Vidal (of course step-parents were frequently the evil monsters in Grim’s tales as well). Outside in the woods, Ofelia discovers an abandoned hedge maze which leads to a door to another world. From this world, a centaur-beast emerges and proclaims Ofelia to be the lost Princess of their land who has come back to reclaim her kingdom. Ofelia undergoes a series of tasks to prove she is the true successor.

Oflelia’s fantasy adventures distract her from the evil presided over by her stepfather, Capt Vidal (Sergi Lopez). Vidal strives to hunt down the scattered rebels who fight for freedom and subvert the Fascist authorities. One of whom is the secret boyfriend of Ofelia’s confidant Mercedes, the lowly cook who sabotages Vidal from within. When Ofelia’s brother is born, she realizes the danger he will face being in the care of his sadistic new father. Ofelia’s courage allows her to save her brother and reclaim her crown as the Queen of the subterranean world.

Del Toro’s skills as writer should not be overlooked. Del Toro juggles several storylines and subplots with accurate skill. His screenplay is near-perfect. It's a classically structured screenplay – something that could be workshopped in a Robert McKee course. Mercedes’ plotline involving her boyfriend and the situations she puts herself in to save the day become more dangerous as the film progresses. The stakes are at its highest when she’s placed in the Vidal’s evil torture room (which is perfectly set up and paid off in the third act). The third act also merges the two main storylines when Ofelia is chased by her stepfather into the Labyrinth – thus merging her fantasy world with the real world.

The heartbreaking finale is worthy of the Grim’s influence. The manner in which Ofelia enters the fantasy world is a risky decision for Del Toro – something which few Hollywood blockbusters would be brave enough to do. But it’s what raises his film above Narnia, Potter, and in my personal opinion, LOTR.

In perhaps the most fan-appreciative follow up to this critically-acclaimed masterpiece Del Toro has unpretentiously jumped back into genre, with a sequel to “Hellboy”. And after that according to the IMDB he'll complete his Spanish Civil War trilogy with a ghost story entitled "3993". Enjoy.