Review of Crimson Peak (2015) by Michael M — 11 Apr 2017

Aflame with color and awash in symbolism, this undeniably ravishing yet ultimately disappointing haunted-house meller is all surface and no substance, sinking under the weight of its own self-importance into the sanguine muck below. Named after the estate to which Mia Wasikowskaâ(TM)s newly orphaned and even newlier-wed heroine unwisely relocates with a plainly duplicitous brother-sister pair , âCrimson Peakâ? proves too frou-frou for genre fans, too gory for the Harlequin crowd and all-around too obvious for anyone pressed to guess what the siblingsâ(TM) dark secret could possibly be, and will likely wind up an in-the-red setback to Universalâ(TM)s most profitable year.

Itâ(TM)s a testament to del Toroâ(TM)s stature in Hollywood that the studio greenlit this costly R-rated indulgence, far closer in tone to such Spanish-language chillers as âThe Devilâ(TM)s Backboneâ? and âCronosâ? than any of the comicbook and action spectaculars that have since made him a household name in the States.