Review of Crimson Peak (2015) by Art S — 05 Nov 2016

Dreamlike in its pacing and its visuals, del Toro's latest ode to horror takes the form of a gothic woman-in-peril picture (e.g. Gaslight, Rebecca), set at the end of the 19th century. The opening scene, a flashback to a childhood brush with a ghost for Edith (Mia Wasikowska), is fantastic in its Bava-esque colour scheme and spooky CGI ghost (embodied by Doug Jones from Pan's Labyrinth).

But the film becomes rather deadly matter-of-fact after that, as we follow Edith's grown-up story: she is seduced by Baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) who is visiting America with his sister (Jessica Chastain with black hair - this is goth, after all) and when her father is murdered, she marries Sharpe and moves to England to the weird house they share.

Apparently del Toro had the house actually built and it is a monstrosity with a working lift at its heart, creepy apparitions within its dark hallways, and blood red dirt oozing up through the snow around it.

Of course, Sharpe and his sister have secrets that they are hiding and Edith is soon in danger - but the ghosts, scary though they are in del Toro's gruesome depictions, may be helping her. Overall, del Toro manages to keep things together by worshipping the themes of the gothic noir and not letting things get too over-ripe or cartoonish (as Tim Burton might do).

But some judicious tightening would surely have helped matters and Wasikowska is probably miscast, as her underplaying contrasts with the florid surroundings. Still, there is no denying the stylishness of what's on offer.