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nCrimson Peak (2015)
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nDirector: Guillermo del Toro
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nCast: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston,nCharlie Hunnam, Doug Jones
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nEvery time a Guillermo del Toro film premieres I get giddy asna schoolboy because you know, he’s one of the modern day greats. There’s nondenying he’ll go down as one of the greats of his generation, and best part ofnall is that he’s all about horror and sci-fi, and trust me, a director who isnas knowledgeable about the genre as he is, is not an easy thing to find. Inmean, sure there’re directors making horror films out there, but most of them don’tntruly understand and love horror, they don’t know all the right movies tonborrow from, they don’t have that fanboy mentality. Not even half of them.nGuillermo del Toro is a rare breed of director and I, as a fan of the genre,ntruly appreciate whatever he does because you just know it comes from someonenwho knows his shit. So of course I was excited when word of Crimson Peak camenout, I just knew Guillermo del Toro was going to load it with an extra dose ofnGothic sensibilities! So did he? Did Crimson Peak disappoint?
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nStory is all about this writer called Edith Cushing, who’snswept off her feet by Thomas Sharpe, an entrepreneur who comes into townnlooking for financial backup for one of his business ventures. He doesn’t find it, but he does find Edith,nwhom he immediately falls in love with and marries. He takes her with him tonhis mansion in London. The mansion looks awesome and it’s huge, but it’s kindnof old and falling apart. Ghosts have been warning Edith (who is a bit of anpsychic) about something called ‘Crimson Peak’, what are these ghosts talkingnabout? Should Edith listen to them?
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nIf you are a horror connoisseur, then you’ll be picking up referencesnand plot lines from a zillion old horror movies all throughout Crimson Peak.nFor example, there’s an obvious influence by films like Robert Wise’s TheHaunting (1963) and The Innocents (1961) which are spooky horror movies thatnrely more on psychological horror rather than on anything we actually see,nwhich is kind the ‘modus operandi’ on Crimson Peak because while the film doesnhave its share of ghosts and spooks, it doesn’t rely only on them to create itsndreadful mood. This movie is more about ambiance. I wouldn’t necessarily callnthis film a true blue horror movie though. Like its main character Edith, whonwrites stories that aren’t ghost stories, but rather stories with “ghosts innthem”. The same can certainly be said of Crimson Peak which is actually more ofna love story with horror elements in a Gothic setting, which of course is coolnas well. Here’s a movie that maintains its spooky Gothic vibe all the waynthrough to the end. It never lets go of its spookiness, any true horror fannwill understand just how great that is. Now, this is not to say that the filmnisn’t scary of horrifying, it has its bloody, scary, spooky moments. It hasnstormy nights and ghosts and things that go bump in the night, but with a tragicnromance attached to it as well.
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nSpeaking of influences, I’d say that the biggest influence onnthis film is Roger Corman’s The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) which by thenway is one of my favorite films to see on Halloween night. I’ve alreadynre-watched it this October and enjoyed every part of its spooky, atmosphericnvibe. Same as The Fall of the House of Usher, Crimson Peak is about familynlegacies, houses that are falling apart, doomed romances and that constantndreadful atmosphere. That idea that houses can carry evil across generations;nthat the ground on which the house was built is cursed and therefore so is the familynthat lives in it; all these elements can be found on both films. And yetnanother huge influence on del Toro is, his own film The Devils Backbone (2001).nOn Crimson Peak we once again have ghosts with blood that floats up into thinnair and disappears, which is kind of trademark of Guillermo del Toro at thisnpoint. So as you can see, Crimson Peak is an old fashioned horror story,ninspired by the best old fashioned horror movies.
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nSame as all Guillermo del Toro films Crimson Peak is a beautifulnfilm to look at; del Toro once again plays with the color palette in trulynsatisfying ways, so much so that color actually plays an integral part of the story,nwhich of course makes sense in a film called ‘Crimson Peak’. The art directionnis excellent; the house looks gorgeously gothic. It’s that kind of film where 90%nof it takes place mostly inside of a house, again, same as Corman’s House ofnUsher which takes place entirely in one location. For this film, Guillermo delnToro decided to focus primarily on the art production, the set design, whichnmakes sense because if your whole film is centered around a house, then you’dnbetter make damn sure it’s one awesome looking set with lots of nooks andncrannies to shoot in, which is exactly what they did here. The house isnawesome, worthy of standing next to some of the best haunted house films likenJan De Bont’s The Haunting (1999), which I think is actually a very underrated hauntednhouse film. So anyhow, is there anything wrong with del Toro’s Crimson Peak? Personally,nI would have amped up the horror and the ghosts a bit, but then again, it’s notnmy film, it’s del Toro’s. So Crimson Peak is what it is; a gothic romance withnsome excellent atmosphere and in many ways, the perfect film to watch onnHalloween night! So if you see only one spooky film in theaters this Halloween,nCrimson Peak is an excellent choice.
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nRating: 4 out of 5
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