Member review

‘Crimson Peak’, directed by Guillermo del Toro sees Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, a young woman who quickly becomes enamoured with Tom Hiddleston’s Sir Thomas Sharp. Their love is soon disturbed as Thomas’ sister Lady Lucille Sharp, played by Jessica Chastain, lurks in the background amongst other nefarious entities.

If one thing can be said about ‘Crimson Peak’, it is that it is a treat for the eyes. The cinematography, set design and visual effects are outstanding. I recently claimed that ‘The Shape of Water’ was del Toro’s best-looking film and I could not have been more wrong. This film is gorgeous. It still uses his trademark grit and realism evidenced in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ but has a level of beauty unmatched by his other work. The centrepiece of the film is a gorgeously gothic house with a distinct geography, style and props. It also helps that the house is slowly falling apart over the course of the film, reflecting the increasingly intense plot. The house is very distinct. It is all captured by a camera with incredibly energy. It is often moving, twisting around the corridors and round doorframes. All of this movement helps to catch the dynamic environment, which is always delicately lit. It is rare to see a film that uses colour so well. From the contrast between white snow and the red clay to the cold blue hues, there is rarely a shot that looks plain. From the instant the characters arrive at the house, this film looks amazing. Due to this, it is such a shame that the film takes ages to get there.

The film’s pacing is and plotting is quite poor at times. The plot takes what feels about half the film’s length to really get going. Until then, the film is quite banal. Once it does pick up the pace, it can be a reasonably tense, fun horror film. There’s just too little horror. Much of the action takes place in the very end of the film, meaning there’s little tension throughout. Sure, there are several brilliantly designed apparitions but they get so few moments to shine that they fall to the wayside. The film is also delightfully goofy. Chastain’s performance is far too over the top to be intimidating and the events that unfold are just a bit too far to build tension. I feel that if the film had a few more characters we could have had more going on.

The plot is also very predictable. The mystery is intriguing but not very difficult to figure out. It also borrows strongly from other films, at times quite directly. Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Notorious’ has plot points stolen from it almost beat-for-beat. The director even steals from his own work, using an exact ghost design from ‘The Devil’s Backbone’. This made the film just seem like another horror film, one that could easily be found elsewhere. That doesn’t stop it from being a fun time. Wasikowska is likeable enough that I did want her to make it through and some scenes made me reasonably worried for her. The film also has a good bit of fun with violence. It is brutal at times, so much so that it scratches that animalistic itch to see some blood on screen. Ultimately, I had fun with this film, even if I won’t remember it all that much. If you want something pretty to put on in the background, I would certainly recommend ‘Crimson Peak’.