Review of Crimson Peak (2015) by Jesse O — 10 Mar 2016

Not what I would call Guillermo del Toro's finest hour. There's nothing wrong with the movie, at all, but it just doesn't stand up with his best works. Del Toro still has a unique eye for visuals and he's clearly very adept at creating a tense atmosphere and I think that's the best part of this movie.

Well, really, outside of the lead performances from Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain. Really, however, Jessica Chastain is pretty fantastic here. She pretty much steals the movie with her performance as someone who's pretty much unhealthily obsessed with her brother and with maintaining their family home no matter the cost.

This is where the horror comes from, it's not even the ghosts themselves, though there are a few of them, it's Lucille's willingness to do absolutely anything to maintain the life she's grown accustomed to.

As far as the film providing consistent scares, it was not to be. I mean I can see how the atmosphere might keep people on their toes and the film does provide some creepy moments, but I never found them to be wholly consistent.

I don't know, it just feels like there's large chunks of the film without them. Though, admittedly, the film kept me intrigued with the mystery of what exactly the Sharpe siblings were up to and what their endgame was.

The reveal itself isn't exactly the most satisfying, to me at least, but it at least it served in establishing the bond between the Sharpe siblings and Thomas' growing dislike of Lucille's tactics.

That sibling dynamic is really what drives the movie forward. The ghost elements of the film are, realistically, secondary. Not saying they're unimportant, it's just that they're a means to an end, if you will.

It just helps to get you peel back the layers of the Sharpe siblings and who they really are. So I thought that was well done and, like I mentioned, the acting is pretty much top-notch. But, and I don't know why, there's a certain spark missing from the film.

I don't doubt that Guillermo del Toro's heart was in this, but it just doesn't match up to what one would typically expect from such a visionary filmmaker. There's still stylistic elements that tell you that this is a del Toro film, but from the guy that made Pan's Labyrinth, this sort of pales in comparison to that film and its creativity.

And I'm not suggesting that every film he makes should be like that, not even close, I think one of the best things about del Toro is his willingness to try different styles of visual storytelling, even if they're all framed within the horror/sci-fi genre.

So this movie, really, is his tribute/nod to some old-school Hammer films. That much is obvious, it's like a love-letter to those types of films. But, and this bears repeating, there was just something missing from this movie that would've taken it to the next level.

I think the film needed a more consistent focus on horror. With that said, however, this is still a good movie and one that I would recommend, just as a rental however. The acting and creepy atmosphere more than make up for its flaws.