Review of Crimson Peak (2015) by Spangle — 30 Oct 2015

Crimson Peak is a hard film to identify. Yes, it is a gothic romance, but with it blending so many different genres on top of that, it is certainly hard to fit into any circle. That being said, I am more than happy to let it be on its own and just sit back and enjoy.

Thanks to truly beautiful visuals, Crimson Peak absolutely soars and confirms my love of Guillermo del Toro's films. It can be truly violent a couple of times and does manage to scare on a couple of occasions, but its usage of ghosts in a non-scary role is truly brilliant.

The design of the supernatural elements is great and they are certainly metaphorical of something, but I am personally having trouble placing my finger on what. Though it is not scary, the film manages to still be deeply unsettling thanks to the great performance of Jessica Chastain.

Mia Wasikowska and Tom Hiddleston were also particularly strong here. There are numerous things that stand out to me beside these things, including the symbolic usage of bugs, the brilliant costume design, and the fantastic production design.

The whole lore of the mansion, the explanation of the name, and my God the visuals. I know I mentioned the visuals, but the cinematography and visual effects were absolutely phenomenal. Those alone are worth the price of admission.

Crimson Peak will ultimately be looked down upon for not being scary thanks to a horrific marketing campaign, even though its intent is not to scare you, which is truly tragic because it is a wonderful film that is masterfully directed by del Toro and has a powerhouse performance from Chastain.