“It is a story with a ghost in it”, this oft-repeated line in the film is a reminder that director Guillermo Del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” is hard to slot into any defined category or genre. But Edith soon discovers that her new husband is not who he appears to be, with his house being the home to ghostly, mysterious entities, which he and his sister, Lady Lucille Sharpe (Chastain) desperately try to hide. Though a move would mean leaving behind her father (Jim Beaver) and childhood acquaintance Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), she can’t help but feel swayed by the fact she would be leaving behind the ghost of her dead mother, who has tormented her since childhood. His sister brings out his more horrific tendencies, aspects of his character that he hopes to change in his relationship with Edith.
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When we meet Mia Wasikowska’s Edith Cushing, she’s written “a story with a ghost in it”, but while struggling to get it published is keen to emphasise that it is not “a ghost story”. Sir Thomas harvests red clay and stores the soupy, blood-like substance in vats in the basement.
And the Hammer films were reinventing horror in their heyday, not recycling it. While Crimson Peak showcases del Toro’s incredible visual toolset – the man knows colour better than just about any other living director – it wedges itself into a curious gap between outright camp and genuine scares, committing to neither.
There are certainly a couple of unsettling moments, but for what’s billed as a gothic, romantic horror, del Toro’s biggest failings here are that there’s disappointingly little chemistry between Wasikowska and Hiddleston and it’s not actually particularly frightening.
Crimson Peak is to the Golden Age Hollywood adaptations of Jane Eyre, Rebecca and Great Expectations what Todd Haynes’s Far From Heaven was to the oeuvre of Douglas Sirk – a modernization of a specific sort of period piece that aims to rescue it from ironic viewing. Although, really he’s not used for much at all in the script by del Toro and Matthew Robbins, beyond serving as a red herring.
Crimson Peak is an absolutely gorgeous movie. It starts off as a grim Gothic horror that is dabbling in romance, but plays out more like a psychological thriller, just one with ghosts thrown in.
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While Edith is the story’s narrator and protagonist, it is her antagonist Lucille who is the more fascinating character. Or more. It’s still a attractive film to watch, despite its few flaws. Chastain is nearly otherworldly in her performance as the cold Lucille, playing the piano with the same precision that she deflects any attempts by Edith at friendship. It’s possible del Toro was trying to say something with these choices, but it’s also possible they simply looked cool. Edgar Allen Poe would have enjoyed Crimson Peak. But, as we see it, it’s got a huge hole in the roof – one that lets in a constant flurry of snow and leaves.
