Review of Crimson Peak (2015) by Andrew M — 03 Aug 2016

Very early in Guillermo del Toro's latest outing, Mia Wasikowska's Edith Cushing, in a not-terribly-subtle explanation of her manuscript, explains that "it's not a ghost story. The ghost is a metaphor for the past." It's clearly more than just the character describing a potential novel: it's del Toro explaining how the film should be interpreted overall.

But therein lies the problem with Crimson Peak: it suffers from an identity crisis. Del Toro clearly doesn't want this to be viewed strictly as a horror film, but there's too much focus on ghostly visuals and an all around unnerving production design, brought to life in predictably beautiful Guillermo del Toro style. Perhaps he wants the film to be viewed as a Victorian romance drama, focusing on the complex relationship between Cushing and the mysterious Sharpe family, Thomas (Tom Hiddleston) and Lucille (Jessica Chastain). The acting between these three is engaging, particularly that of Chastain, who's delightfully creepy in spite of an on-and-off and never particularly believable English accent, but the characters themselves lack any characteristics that makes us gravitate towards their story. It's a shame, because this hinders the immersion into the mystery around these characters and the mysterious Allerdale Hall; instead, it feels like another subplot in a movie that already struggles to decide what is truly is.

A greater focus on one of these aspects would've greatly improved this film, because there's a lot of potential in this story and these characters. It's strange that del Toro can't manage to bring this story and these characters to their full potential: fortunately, he knows how to make a visual marvel, and that, as well as the performances, is enough to make Crimson Peak worth at least one watch.