Crimson Peak (2015)

"Ghosts are real, that much I know. 
I've seen them all my life..."

A scary ghost story... That's not very scary... And doesn't feature many ghosts.

After a family tragedy, aspiring author Edith Cushing is swept off to a mysterious house by an even more mysterious English gentleman.

'Crimson Peak' features one of the vaguest trailers I've ever seen (which was one of the reasons I was excited to see it) and boasts a haunting story wrapped in a dark and creepy mystery by a visionary director. It all seemed too good to be true... And you know what they say about things that seem too good to be true?

You guessed it.

'Crimson Peak' starts off extremely well with the set up of a great mystery and some interesting(ish) characters. We are oblivious to the answer of the puzzle that the film is presenting and I couldn't wait to get deeper into this classic ghost story with a modern "Del Toro" twist. Unfortunately, 'Crimson Peak' is a classic example of style over substance. Stunning cinematography and creative art design without the story or backbone to support the lavish excesses of the film.

What bothers me most about 'Crimson Peak' is the promise that it makes to the audience which it fails to deliver on. From the trailer and the opening of the film, we are promised a fantastical mystery, haunting ghosts and eccentric drama but we only really get the grand eccentricities without much else. 

Ghosts are few and far between in this film which, for an apparent ghost story, is a let down. The ghosts that we do see are so over the top and CGI ridden that they almost become pantomime. They have no influence on the plot and, by the end, you begin to wonder why they are even really in the film. We are focused more on the love story between the charming gent that is Tom Hiddleston and a forgettable Mia Wasikowska. Despite a few jump scares and a lot of walking down dark candlelit hallways, I struggle to find the poignant significance that the film rests on the ghosts. We are pretty much told in the beginning (through Edith Cushing's writing) that this is a story with ghosts in it, not a ghost story but I was hoping for at least a little bit more purely based on what the film is sold as.

Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain definitely give the best performances in the film as the mysterious Sharpe siblings. Tom Hiddleston as Thomas Sharpe is both charming and repulsive alongside his very unstable and obviously dangerous sister - Lucille. Their sibling dynamic is interesting and holds your interest despite a flat performance by Mia Wasikowska as an equally dull character - Edith Cushing. She plays an ambitious writer who falls hopelessly in love with Mr Hiddleston and is apparently our lead in the film who we feel absolutely nothing for... 

However Jim Beaver gives a short but sweet appearance as Mia Wasikowska's father Carter Cushing. I haven't seen him in anything else before but he gives a solid performance as her nurturing father and we really come to admire his principles and his style.

What has to be said for 'Crimson Peak' is that the cinematography and art design (in true Del Toro style) is beautiful. It is unique and interesting to look at and really creates a whole new world for the viewer. The house itself comes alive and really adds to the mystery of it all, albeit that mystery is a bit of a let down but it's a gorgeous film to look at nonetheless.  The sets are real and have obviously been built which made the film feel alive. This is a principle I wish they had applied to the ghosts and, considering Guillermo Del Toro's practical effect background, I was hoping for more of that.

It is a confusing and convoluted story that boasts a unique plot twist that is a massive disappointment. For the entirety of the film we are wanting to discover what the answer to the mystery is but, at the crucial moment, we don't really care that much. It is a pretty boring and unoriginal "twist" that made my stomach sink. I kept waiting for so much more but it never comes. The violence in the film is deliberate and gratuitous which I think worked extremely well in some scenes but not so well in others. It gets more and more ridiculous by the end and I was totally out of the film by the big finale. 

Overall, 'Crimson Peak' wasn't nearly as great as I was hoping it was going to be. Despite being a beautiful film to look at, it's undeniably a let down. It had all the potential to be a great film but squanders it on a convoluted, benign and dull plot. Guillermo Del Toro gave us 'Pan's Labyrinth' and I was hoping this was going to top that masterpiece but it seems I was expecting too much.

'Crimson Peak' isn't a horror film, I'd say it was more of a gothic romance tale, despite the misleading marketing of the film. I was searching for the deeper meaning and trying to dissect it in a different way because I wanted so much to enjoy this film but, conclusively, it's not scary, it's a bit predictable and feels a little pointless.

I'll still see anything that Guillermo Del Toro releases, he's an interesting and unique director and I think that he's still got a whole lot more to offer but, in this case, definitely on the verge of a misfire with 'Crimson Peak'.