Crimson Peak

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver

Running Time: 119 Mins

Country: USA

“It’s not so much a ghost story, it’s more a story with a ghost in it” explains budding writer Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) as she desperately endeavours to have her writing published. She is not deliberately talking of the events to come, but this comment rings true of the type of horror film we’ve come to expect from Guillermo del Toro. In many ways, the phantoms play a backdrop to the more frightful story we are told; a story of tainted and corrupted love.

Crimson Peak unfolds at the turn of the twentieth century. We begin in America, which is stylishly embellished with a gothic steampunk aesthetic. Edith Cushing is the beautiful daughter of an entrepreneurial father, who falls in love with the mysterious, yet alluring, Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). After an unexpected tragedy she quickly marries him and is swept over the Atlantic to live with him and his abrasive sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain), in their isolated and crumbling family estate. Naturally remote, old, English homes are a recipe for unsettled spirits and the newly wed falls victim to the terror of the Crimson Peak.

…the film reeks of a beautiful childlike magic, while simultaneously possessing an ominous threat

Del Toro’s film doesn’t disappoint those familiar with his characteristic visual effects. Crimson Peak is emblematic of the signature style of fantasy he has become famous for and it is likely one of the most artistic films you will see all year. Similar to his previous work, Del Toro spectacularly conceptualises the fantastical characters in the film. Much like in his greatest film to date, Pan’s Labyrinth, the film reeks of a beautiful childlike magic, while simultaneously possessing an ominous threat.

Likewise, the ghosts in Crimson Peak continue to exhibit Del Toro’s masterful eye for fantasy. When you glimpse his spectres you are divided between a fear of these otherworldly apparitions, while concurrently you cannot help be drawn to their ghastly allure. You end up wanting to examine every detail, but not too closely. Outside of the spectral realm Del Toro is equally unrelenting in his attention to detail. From Thomas Sharpe’s peculiar inventions to the elaborate gothic dresses, the film design is phenomenal for anyone who likes the enhanced chromatic visual and a magnified version of the gothic.

Image: UPI Media

…the film design is phenomenal for anyone who likes the enhanced chromatic visual and a magnified version of the gothic

This symmetry between the real and the fantasy is what makes Del Toro’s ghost story so enthralling. The living residents of Crimson Peak mingle seamlessly with the fantasy layers cloaking the film. Tom Hiddleston delivers sinister Britishness with ease while Mia Wasikowska effortlessly slides into a role she was made for. There is little love lost when one learns that Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Stone were the two originally cast to play the leads; the replacements aptly fill the void and then some.

Most horror films will by no means fail to scare and frighten you, but in the long run they will unavoidably become as memorable as the popcorn you eat; they are short lived sensational thrills. There is a central tragedy locked away in Crimson Peak. Del Toro’s supernatural realm is a fascinating way of exploring the misfortunes and corruptions of mankind and this is something most films sharing the genre frequently fail to exploit.

The ghosts feel like meaningful projections from that world’s past. Their existence is contingent on a world where decisions matter. Crimson Peak may not be the scariest film you will see, but its terror has a longevity and poignancy. The film is harrowing more than it is frightening but this is perhaps a more penetrating type of fear. The story of Edith Cushing and the Sharpe siblings is one that will linger in your mind. It’s a ghost story that will haunt you, like all the good ones should.