Crimson Peak has all the typical horror tropes of your standard horror flick- creaking floorboards, opening and closing doors, a rotting mansion, mysterious figures and spectacularly chilling background music. It is something I could watch with the sound off, but I’d rather not.
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The unmistakable touch of Guillermo del Toro – the Mexican writer-director behind “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Hellboy” – can’t be missed in “Crimson Peak”. She is the naive, academic who catches the eye of her future husband, Thomas, played by the equally unbelievable Tom Hiddleston. Mia Wasikowska, who has been praised for her brilliant acting in the film, is Edith. It is not a ghost story, but a story about ghosts. When you go this blatantly meta, it is easy to set yourself up for failure. All she gets is a colder look from Lucille. The film is meant to keep you guessing throughout, but I felt that most of that mystery was fairly obvious early on. Here, it is mainly about the loss of innocence. After tragedy strikes, Edith desperately wants to escape the memories of home, and sets out to make a new one with Thomas and his inscrutable sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), in a crumbling mansion that is filled with holes, memories and blood coloured clay.
Things are not be as they seem, and Edith may ultimately find that ghosts are not the greatest threat or potential source of peril she will face.
Del Toro and collaborator Matthew Robbins, wrote the script, which appears to be inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. That all comes together in the house where most of the action takes place, Allerdale Hall.
The lighting in “Crimson Peak” draws out reds, or highlights streaks of black and white. It builds to the underlying tension and the film’s bloody, thrilling finale. And while the film does features a few CGI effects, the director wanted as many practical effects and props as possible. Except for Chastain, the actors (including Charlie Hunnam as Edith’s skeptical friend) play a single note, and the period trappings have a digital sheen to them.
Hiddleston is well-placed as Sharpe, a charming man with a dark past. The human horror is sometimes way more effective than the paranormal. But then there is something you learn about yourself even though you should learn before.
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In an interview with The Guardian, Guillermo del Toro stated that he’s pretty much done with big-budget Hollywood blockbusters, unless the big-budget Hollywood blockbuster is Pacific Rim and only Pacific Rim.
