In an exclusive interview with Metro.co.uk, he said the film drew from the literary genre which put strong female characters at the forefront of the story.
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While the premise may sound insane, Del Toro has proved he is more than capable of juggling odd storylines and haunting visuals with a filmography that includes titles such as The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth and, more recently, television series The Strain, and it is clear he wants to return to doing what he does best, officially.
He definitely gives females a very strong voice in his films’.
As much as we would have liked to have seen them, Guillermo del Toro’s version of The Hobbit and planned adaptation of At Mountains Of Madness never happened, though the filmmakers admits that if he had the money he would like to still work on the latter.
Production designer Tom Sanders and his team have created the mother of all haunted houses, complete with a dramatic staircase, rickety elevator, rusty pipes, a hole in the ceiling through which leaves (and later, snow) fall to the floor of the foyer, and both an attic and a basement Edith is warned to avoid. Complete with gorgeous costume design and a rich color palette that brings the film’s most arresting images to life, Crimson Peak is a shoo-in for many an Oscar nod in the technical categories.
Hiddleston and Charlie Hunnam delivery solidly in their roles here, but Crimson Peak truly belongs to its women, with themes of feminism throughout that are conveyed to great success through its leading lady’s story of love and search for the truth. The Buffalo sequence plays like “The Age of Innocence”, with Alan and Thomas battling for Edith’s attention at dances and dinners. While the digital effects are undeniably contemporary, “Crimson Peak” is otherwise a period homage that mostly plays like a period film, rarely giving in to contemporary notions of pacing and payoff.
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It’s insane (and eye-opening) to know that such a significant event of del Toro’s life would serve as an inspiration for a movie that would be commentary/fantasy metaphor on a nation’s politics. Even in Crimson Peak, not all of the scares are simple exercises in loud noises and sudden starts. An added plus, the film also features a heroine that we enjoy watching, a likable woman who ultimately finds power in embracing her personal strengths and identity. I like the dark ones, so “Blade” and “Hellboy” were right for me.
