Director/writer Guillermo del
Torro has the reputation of making delightfully eerie movies (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth). His latest
venture, Crimson Peak, is as fine-looking
and weird as expected. However, the story
doesn’t have the depth that I was hoping it would have.
Crimson Peak focuses on the only daughter of a rich American
businessman named Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) who is smitten by a visiting English
baronet, the charming Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleton). The two get married, and Sir Thomas brings
his bride with him to England. They
settle down in the dilapidated and gothic Sharp family mansion located atop a hill
of blood-red clay. Sir Thomas’ sister,
Lady Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain) also resides in the mansion and is cold
towards Edith, much to the latter’s bemusement.
Adding to Edith’s discomfort is the ghostly apparitions that she
starts encountering in the mansion… which eventually brings her to unravel the
dark secrets that the Sharpe siblings are harboring.
Despite the presence of creepy ghosts
and having a gothic tone, Crimson Peak
is not much of a horror movie. There’s
some creepy and disturbing stuff going on, but it’s not really scary. The narrative is okay. But I wasn’t invested on it as much as I
wanted to. It just doesn’t have enough story
substance, and the twists are predictable.
Visually though, this movie is pleasingly
stunning. The CGI of the ghosts are merely
all right. But the sets and costumes are
gorgeous, and the shots are well-executed.
Being beautiful is this movie’s biggest positive.
I love the Victorian-gothic tone
that has been accomplished by Crimson
Peak. And it’s actually an entertaining movie. But, in my opinion, it definitely could have benefited
from a few more thoughtful re-writes of the script.
Or maybe it’s just me. Maybe I was simply hoping too much that it
would be another Pan’s Labyrinth. But, yeah, the point is, I find Crimson Peak lacking.
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