with its fusion of naive, old-school character rotoscoping and lavishly airbrushed world-building, the film's visuals aim squarely for geek nostalgia and hit their target; "Spine of Night" is best when it releases itself into pure, silly, gory spectacle
however, for all its warring gods, merciless men, vicious spectacle, and mystical magic, this adventure is dreary and dull; while intellectually enticing and visually daring, the dogged dryness leaves a curious tale emotionally bereft
for all lurid appeal of the atrocities inflicted, there's a quietly elegiac tone of birth & death; The longer you are immersed in this exchange of stories, of hope dying against darkness but proving its value just by its glimmers, the more it enthralls
"The Spine of Night" packs so much into its roughly 90-minute runtime that it doesn't always give its emotional peaks room to breathe, but it never fails to arouse a feeling of wonder. This movie is a breathtaking rarity