Crimson Peak (2015) - Review

'Crimson Peak' is the most gothic film Guillermo del Toro has ever made. It's brimming with the tropes and clichés of gothic literature, and it's no real wonder that the film didn't quite have the wide audience appeal needed to be a box office hit - it only made $74 million against its $55 million production budget. Ultimately, 'Crimson Peak' represents a different kind of horror from what audiences typically expect now, and whilst I can imagine this doesn't appeal to some, this very much appealed to me.

The story follows Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), who is trying to write a novel when she meets the enigmatic Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). As the two fall in love, mysterious circumstances lead Edith to live with Thomas and his rather unsettling sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) at Allerdale Hall, where the mysteries begin to unfold...

Del Toro isn't exactly subtle with what the film is actually about. Earlier on in 'Crimson Peak', when referring to her novel, Edith explains that the ghosts are metaphors for the past, and not the main focus of the novel - in essence explaining to the audience that no, this isn't really a ghost story, but a story involving ghosts. The actual effect used to create the ghosts in 'Crimson Peak' is exquisite, especially when they appear bright red - or, rather, crimson - against the very gothic architecture of Allerdale Hall. Del Toro opts to film the ghosts not as terrifying monsters but as eerie creatures from the netherworld, not to be feared but to be understood. The ghosts appearing in Allerdale Hall are the literal ghosts of the past, warning Edith of the truth of Crimson Peak, and of the real horrors there.

Edith herself is very much a gothic protagonist - fascinated with death, but otherwise an innocent, blonde madonna - making her ripe for seduction by Tom Hiddleston's Byronic character Thomas. Hiddleston is renowned for playing charming and menacing characters, and seeing him in 'Crimson Peak' demonstrates how apt a performer he is for gothic stories, possibly even as a Count Dracula one day. Jessica Chastain meanwhile has a much more difficult character to perform, but really manages to unsettle from her first moments on screen. Her character Lucille is bizarre, and very much a tainted, monstrous opposite to Edith, whilst Charlie Hunnam appears as a well-meaning Dr. Alan McMichael (very much reminiscent of Dr. Seward from Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'), and Jim Beaver plays Edith's concerned father Carter Cushing - a character who tries to prevent the story's unfolding as early on as he can, but to no avail.

The film is oftentimes slow and ponderous, creating a sense of mystery and suspense as opposed to a constant string of jump-scares and gore-fests. Del Toro and Matthew Robbins' script follows the structure of a typical gothic novel acutely, even going as far as to bookend the film with Edith narrating, as though she were the first person narrator of a gothic novel - emphasised as the film's title card appears as the front cover of a book. I can't imagine it's any coincidence that Edith's last name is Cushing either - no doubt a homage to classic Hammer horror actor (as well as 'Star Wars' villain and Dr. Who) Peter Cushing. The isolation of Allerdale Hall, the use of blood in the film and the snowstorm really hammer-home the gothic atmosphere of the film, enhanced further by the stunning production design (Allerdale Hall is an absolutely incredible set) and haunting musical score by Fernando Velázquez. The camera movements are slow and methodical, or rushed and erratic for the right scene, whilst the film exhibits Guillermo del Toro's terrific use of colour.

'Crimson Peak' isn't for everyone, but it's safe to say that even if it might not be your cup of tea, it is an exquisite production, and a definite win for writer/director/producer Guillermo del Toro. It might not be as incredible as 'Pan's Labyrinth', or as ridiculous as 'Pacific Rim' (which too featured Charlie Hunnam and Burn Gorman), but it is a wonderful and atmospheric piece. It's incredible that del Toro was given $55 million to make 'Crimson Peak' in the first place, but I'm so glad he did.