Crimson Peak | Film Review

‘Ghosts are real, that much I know’

From the exquisite opening shot, framing our heroine, Edith, in a dreamlike distortion of Alice in Wonderland, director Guillermo del Toro wants us to understand one thing: This is NOT a horror film. Edith’s soft, yet richly detailed narration serves as our introduction into the truths of this spirited throwback to classic films of decades past. There may be blood and there may be apparitions, but this is not a ghost story.

That little adage is of the utmost importance if you are to walk into del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” with the expectation it deserves. This is a twisted tale of characters and architecture, of history and hierarchy, and mostly – of love. Love between father and daughter, between brother and sister, and even husband and wife. More Hitchcock than Hammer, this is a film with loftier ambitions in mind than ‘BOO’ scares or trite theatrics, and tailoring those perceptions is paramount to enjoying this film as it stands.

Having lost her mother at an early age, Edith (Mia Wasikowska) has eschewed the demands of her well-to-do father’s standing, and instead pours her soul into writing fictional accounts of the very ghosts she has already deemed a reality. Wonderfully portrayed by Wasikowska, Edith is a character commonly lacking in films of this ilk – she is a fully realized and layered woman with natural sensibilities. Unlike typical heroines who continuously commit idiotic mistakes and find themselves lost amidst a sea of despair, Edith is an intelligent force who simply follows what seems to be her life’s proper course.

That path leads her away from her intended suitor, Alan (Charlie Hunnam), and into the arms of the handsome charmer, Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). As Sharpe intends to rebuild his lost family fortune, he also finds in Edith the love he has been desperately searching for, even if she is conveniently the daughter of a wealthy investor. After a series of circumstances I will omit from this review, Edith proceeds to toss her comfortable existence aside by marrying Thomas and returning with him and his sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain), to their ancestral home, a faltering British mansion resting atop a mountain of scarlet-tinged clay.

Something is afoul as Edith adjusts to her newfound surroundings. Her father’s concern in regards to Thomas and Lucille begins to arise, just as does her nightly rendezvous with the various ghosts seemingly entrapped within her new abode. Is this Edith’s mind frantically cracking along with the hallowed walls surrounding her, or is there something more nefarious at play here? Was the spiritual warning Edith received as a child a foreshadowing of this ominous locale? These are several of the numerous questions asked throughout, and even though I personally found the screenplay extremely predictable in its very nature, it is nonetheless entrancing to witness it all unfold.

If you have ever desired a class in set design, yet were too cheap to spring for it, “Crimson Peak” is a showcase in that regard. From spiraling staircases, to resoundingly detailed architecture, to the powdered fields of snow enveloping the grounds – the beauty surrounding del Toro’s pensive direction is simply astonishing. This is a world that has life in every crevice and meaning etched into every bannister. Rarely has a film taken my breath away due to the sheer attention to detail as I found here.

You might have noticed many narrative points have been omitted from this review, and that is completely intentional. Aside from the enchanting performance of Wasikowska and the introspective usage of specters as metaphors, “Crimson Peak” – despite some obvious and repetitive story beats – is a film that deserves to be experienced as unsullied as possible…just leave your craving for horror at the door.

A triumph of style over substance, Guillermo del Toro has spackled a wondrous coat of paint over the tired tropes of gothic romances from years past, thereby crafting “Crimson Peak” as a crest well worth the climb.

Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider