Review of Crimson Peak (2015) by Mrmoviebuff — 19 Oct 2015

'Crimson Peak' is one of those movies where the director, Guillermo Del Toro, is the star. This is one of those films where the director's visual style of filmmaking upstages the story. Think of it as like 'Downton Abbey' mixed with the "Harry Potter" franchise and a hint of 'Pan's Labyrinth' (2006).

It's a pretty typical horror film, especially from someone as talented as Del Toro. You can see some of the really scary parts coming from a mile away. My only issue is that some of the CGI wasn't rendered enough and some of the creatures looked a little silly at times.

The movie stars Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston and Charlie Hunnam, so you can expect great acting in this movie. Wasikowska's character is constantly being haunted by different ghosts and demons throughout and they tell her the same thing to be "aware of Crimson Peak".

Wasikowska then meets Hiddleston's character who wants to invent and innovate. They later get married and live in his house with his sister played by Jessica Chastain, who seems extremely eerie.

The whole film relies on suspense, and like most Del Toro films, can be deliberate in terms of pacing. Some of the scares are genuine and Del Toro crafts this expertly.

My only issue is that the story is very predictable, and at times, it can be very cliche. If you have never seen a horror film in your life, you'll probably enjoy this and will be scared by it. But if you've seen many, scarier horror films, especially from Del Toro, you'll probably be underwhelmed with this one.

Other than that, this film does contain scares, twists and beautiful production design. It is well acted and some of the images will give you nightmares. It's just...there are better, scarier films to see this October.