Film Review: ‘Crimson Peak’ is a Lavish, Albeit Messy Haunt

Crimson Peak is Guillermo Del Toro’s latest romp into a highly stylized artistic rendering that is his, and his alone. Unfortunately, as in the case of many of his films (save the gloriously dark and meaningful masterpiece that was Pan’s Labyrinth), this film once again proves that style doesn’t trump substance.

Crimson Peak follows the story of young, aspiring novelist Edith Cushing (played by the lovely Mia Wasikowska) who marries the seductive Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) after a tragic family accident forces her to run away from her past life – and in this new life, she finds herself swept away to a gothic mansion that bleeds… In this time, she is torn between her mysterious stranger of a husband and a childhood friend, all the while attempting to discover the secret behind this mansion full of ghosts.  

While frighteningly beautiful and filled with some of the most lavish set pieces, costumes, and cinematography ever put to the horror genre, the film – as a whole – falls flat. The characters are occasionally one-dimensional, the supernatural elements end up being a farce, and the script is at times tedious. This does not mean, however, that Crimson Peak is not entertaining. It is a beautiful film to look at. Sights and sounds (mingled with a few scares) will keep viewers interested and involved all the way to the credits. And while you may leave with a shrug – expecting something a bit more scary, considering what we had to work with – you’ll find many of the images will stick with you long after the credits roll.

The greatest part about watching Crimson Peak is that you realize this is Del Toro’s film – in all its sinister weirdness. It’s a love letter to the horror genre, showing audiences that a horror film can be full of style and beauty, and not all about the jump scares and gore. Del Toro himself stated, “I think people are getting used to horror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets. I wanted this to feel like a throwback.” And he succeeds, to a bloody point.

There is one scene in particular that will stick with you (and you’ll know it when you see it) long after the film ends. I just wish it had been “scarier”, and the characters more relatable. While nothing against the performances in the film – as they were all solid – there was just never a time that I felt the film exceeded expectations, or rose above simplistic characterizations of something that could have been more complex.

But all in all, with Halloween just around the corner, you can’t deny that Crimson Peak fits perfectly into the season and that Del Toro once again has proved himself to be a visionary filmmaker with his own uniquely twisted style.

Crimson Peak

Rated R for bloody violence, some sexual content and brief strong language

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Doug Jones, Leslie Hope

Director: Guillermo Del Toro

Writers: Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins