Crimson Peak (2015)

Movie Info

You and I are going to have so much fun together!!!

Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) come to America seeking backers for his project to mine the red rich clay at his home. Catching the eye and the heart of Edith Cushing (Mia Masikowska), Thomas quickly finds himself married to Edith and returning to his dilapidated house often referred to as crimson peak due to the red minerals leaking from the soil. Edith finds that things at the Crimson Peak aren’t as they seem and that within the walls there are secrets…and what is hidden there could be deadly.

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro (with additional writing by Matthew Robbins), Crimson Peak is a gothic horror romance. The film performed at a moderate rate and received relatively positive reviews.

I had a real problem with Crimson Peak. It was everything I should technically like, but I never could make it through the movie. After multiple attempts to watch the film, I finally finished it, and though there were nothing technically wrong with the film, I had a hard time getting into it.

“I’ve got a reservations for midnight!!!”

The movie has a lot of similarities to Guillermo’s other movies. Like The Devil’s Backbone, the ghosts are rather incidental to the plot. They aren’t evil, and they are more omens of what is coming. The story is a tale of murder and mayhem resembles the works of the Brontes. Much like their stories, Edith is a foreigner in a strange and dangerous land. Crimson Peak is a trap, and Edith has fallen right into it.  She’s received the warnings from the spirits, but now it is up to her to escape…and the horror is manmade.

The cast is good, and Mia Wasikowska is a solid lead as the “innocent” who is trapped in a world of horror. She has a rather Jane Eyre to her and the character is outside of the location she’s been inserted in. Tom Hiddleston plays the reluctant lead who is part of the nefarious plot, but doubts his intentions, and he does it well. Charlie Hunnam plays the traditional hero who is there to extradite Mia’s character from danger, but actually becomes a victim himself. Jessica Chastain plays the completely unbalanced Lucille who is crazy throughout so it is no surprise when she crosses into “villain” territory.

I’ve had better days

Visually, the movie is great looking under Guillermo del Toro’s watchful eye. This movie almost feels like a blend between Guillermo’s style and the style of Tim Burton who also revels in the gothic look and feel. The horror and foreboding imagery is key to the movie working and Guillermo does a good job at creating this horror which feels moldy and intrusive. The special effects are good, but the visuals mostly create an atmosphere that is dark and foreboding.

Crimson Peak isn’t a bad movie, but for some reason, I found it a challenge to finish. It relies on a bunch of tropes in regards to gothic horror, and the storyline progresses much as you’d expect it to if you are familiar with works like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. With this classic style of gothic, the movie fails to surprise people who are familiar with the genre, but it also is a good example of the style for new introductions to gothic horror. If you are a fan of the genre, it is often difficult to find new examples, and Crimson Peak is a worthy addition.