CRIMSON PEAK

 

This is the first one of these things that I have written in about ten months, so please be kind.

One of my six most anticipated movies of 2015, Guillermo Del Toro's latest, “Crimson Peak”, finally hit cinemas a few weeks ago. Whilst it took me a little while to see the true genius of the man, since “Pan's Labyrinth” I have been a massive fan of his directorial work, including going back to the films before that bona fide classic and seeing them in a whole different light. However, I need to be honest and admit that I thought his previous film, “Pacific Rim” was an absolute disappointment and bordered on the line of complete crap. Described by the director himself as his first foray into true horror since his 1997 film “Mimic”, “Crimson Peak” seemed like the perfect tonic to wash away the bad after-taste that “Pacific Rim” left in my mouth. So did it succeed or did Del Toro continue his downward spiral of disappointments?

Set early in the 20^th century, a young author, Edith Cushing is wooed by the charming and suave Thomas Sharpe. Soon after her father's sudden and unexpected death, she marries Thomas and moves to his grand mansion in England named Allerdale Hall, which he shares with his sister Lucille. Upon arriving though, Edith's dreams of a fairytale life soon give way to the reality before her, as she is immediately haunted by ghosts within her new home. That home is also anything but what it appears, as it is in severe disrepair and dilapidated beyond belief, to the point that it is actually sinking into the red clay mine below it. Suddenly Edith finds herself thrust into a nightmare, as she starts to believe that her husband and his sister may be anything than what they actually appear to be. Not only that but she soon learns of the nickname of the mansion she is now staying, “Crimson Peak”, named because of the red clay staining the snow that surrounds the mansion's grounds causing it to look bloodstained. As if the visual image is not enough, this name also sends chills down Edith because when she was a little girl, the ghost of her mother appeared to her warning her of the future and to “beware of Crimson Peak”.

To answer the question posed above, one must take into account expectations going in. It needs to be stated right up front that although the film has been marketed as a straight up horror movie, “Crimson Peak” is best described as a Gothic romance/thriller filled with horror moments. Again though, I ask, is the film successful? Personally there is a lot to like with “Crimson Peak”, however this is a film that is definitely flawed, but lets start with the positives first.

The film's greatest strength is the look of it all, which is due to the combination of stunning colour cinematography, extensive large scale set design, and meticulous dedication to period detail. Being that this is the first film from Guillermo Del Toro since 2002's “Blade II” that does not have cinematography by Guillermo Navarro, I must admit that I was a little worried that the usual visual splendour of Del Toro's films may be diminished but the opposite is true as “Crimson Peak” is his most beautiful film to date. Twelve days prior to watching this film, I had re-watched Mario Bava's Gothic chiller “Kill, Baby...Kill” and was bemoaning the fact that no one knew how to use colour like he did any more. Less than two weeks later, I had to eat my words as “Crimson Peak” does exactly that, to the point that I'm positive that Bava's earlier film was a template for how Del Toro wanted “Crimson Peak” to look. Each scene (particularly in the mansion) is bathed in a number of different colours, all working together to create gorgeous image after gorgeous image. The mansion itself was built full-scale, and Del Toro uses it to perfection, getting every ounce of atmosphere out of the dilapidated construct. He understands that in all classic Gothic stories, that the house itself becomes a character and that is definitely true of the abode constructed upon Allerdale Hall. By having the house actually built, Del Toro is able to orchestrate his suspense sequences in such a way that the audience is always aware of the geography of the place which heightens the chill factor. In fact, coupled with Del Toro's shot selection, at times this film feels a lot like an Alfred Hitchcock film.

When it comes to the film's performances, the three leads are all magnificent. This is actually the second time Mia Wasikowska (who plays Edith) and Tom Hiddleston (Thomas) have acted together, but their roles are considerably different from the ones they recently played in Jim Jurmusch's spectacular “Only Lovers Left Alive”. Wasikowska is perfect in her portrayal of a jittery and nervous girl, constantly unsure of what is going on around her, and of someone who finds trusting people harder to do as time goes on, to the point of paranoia. It is though she is never in control of her own life, and she is being pushed and pulled in directions that suit everyone else's lives even if it is not for the betterment of Edith herself. Hiddleston is cast to type, as the suave and handsome Thomas. It is very easy to see how Edith falls in love with him so quick, as this guy has all the romantic moves and is as smooth as it gets. However when he is around his sister, you can feel him shrink, and that it is Lucille that has all the power, and Hiddleston is very good at showing this subtle change compared to which woman he is around. Jessica Chastain is cast against type as the utterly cold and heartless Lucille, and probably gives the film its best performance. She is outstanding, but particularly towards the end when she really gets to flex her acting muscles and just shine. As good as the above three are, I have to say that once again I found Charlie Hunnam terrible as Alan, Edith's childhood friend. Hunnam worked with Del Toro on “Pacific Rim” previous and I thought that he was terrible in that too. He is just so lifeless and boring in all of his portrayals.

Guillermo Del Toro understands horror, that much is clear, as he always talks about the fact that a sustained atmosphere and suspense are the keys to creating a good horror film, as opposed to a quick sudden jump scare, and this is the way he has put together “Crimson Peak”. Jump scares are few and far between, but the atmosphere of dread is set early on and continues to build until it reaches its final half an hour of mayhem, which is the film's strongest section. He also seems to have a great knowledge on how to use violence to get the maximum impact out of it. He is not a director to just use gore or a cool blood gag to gross out the audience, rather he treats violence with the utmost realism so the audience actually feels it. There is a moment towards the end of the film that is just shocking, both because of how quick it happens and because of the pain you can imagine would be associated with such a wound. It is a moment you will never forget, and it mirrors a similar moment from Del Toro's masterpiece “Pan's Labyrinth”. Another thing I loved about “Crimson Peak” was the fact that it was so identifiably a Guillermo Del Toro film as he adds a lot of elements that seem to appear in all of his films. The use of insects or bugs shows up again here with the constant presence of butterflies in the house, and the appearance of old school trinkets and machinery is on display both with the automaton that Thomas shows Edith, and the invention Thomas is trying to perfect to help in the mining of the clay.

So what doesn't work in “Crimson Peak”? Quite simply, the ghosts, and its for a number of reasons. Unfortunately all of the marketing of this film has centred around the ghosts and yet the film is not a ghost story. In fact they have very little to do in the film at all. Early on in the film, Edith is attempting to get her novel publish and a guy exclaims “Oh! This is a ghost story?”, to which Edith replies that “No, it is a story that has ghosts in it” and this is exactly how you need to take “Crimson Peak” itself. Unfortunately due to the marketing, I believe people are going to end up being disappointed with the kind of film they are seeing, as the horror on display is actually not of the supernatural variety. The other problem with the ghosts is because of the true nature of the film, they actually become more of a distraction in the story rather than help propel it along. Personally I believe the film could be stronger with their excision altogether; sure it may make the film more straightforward but that isn't necessarily a bad thing if the story is told well enough. Also, the ghosts are never scary and this maybe due to two reasons: the fact that they are rendered in CGI or the fact that this is not their primary function in the story. I was actually a little disheartened by the CGI of the ghosts, especially when I learnt that all of the ghost were played by actual people on set (so the actors had something to play against) only to be replaced later. For me, it just didn't work, although I believe the “black” ghosts were much more successful than the “red”. I will say the final image of the film is of a ghost and the melancholy of the shot is utter perfection, so credit where credit is due.

Overall though, I must say I was a little disappointed in my initial viewing of “Crimson Peak”, but I feel that had a lot to do with the baggage I brought into the film due to the way it had been marketed. I look forward to watching it again on blu-ray as I'm sure I will have a much greater response to it in general with those expectations removed. Whilst the film is never scary, it is successful in being always creepy and chilling. Visually it is one of the most beautiful horror films created in ages, comparing favourably to the Gothic horrors of Mario Bava and it is worth checking out for Jessica Chastain's against type performance. Despite my slight disappointment, this is a massive step up from “Pacific Rim” and I hope Guillermo Del Toro continues making these smaller films in the future like he has indicated.

3.5 Stars.