Greetings,
You know how some movies get a massive amount of hype and when they come out they may or may not live up to all of it? Yeah, so let's talk about Crimson Peak.
I, like many people, have been looking forward to this movie for quite a while, for a lot of reasons. First of all, I really like Guillermo del Toro as a director, and he has great and original ideas as a writer, something I practically have to beg for these days. Put his story ideas alongside his visual...vision, and I was seriously ready. And, second, of course, Tom Hiddleston. Yeah, I'll give anything he's in a chance. For crying out loud, I've even seen Marvel movies for him. But I digress. Let's get to this movie. And I won't give too much away passed the set up.
Crimson Peak, first, and probably still, assumed to be a horror film, is actually a Gothic Romance. At least, that's what the cast and crew keep telling me. Sure, why not? The movie begins with the Universal logo being altered to suit the story ahead. They turn it red, or rather crimson. Because...title. Oh, and I hope you like that color, because it is flipping EVERYWHERE! Look, I like symbolism as much as anyone, but...come on. Anyway, our heroine is a young woman named Edith Cushing, played by Mia Wasikowska. We see, in a flashback, that her mother died when she was very young, which led to her first experience seeing a ghost, which leads us to a jump scare within the first five minutes. Oh, really, Guillermo? A flashback AND a jump scare so soon? I'm gonna let it slide, because it's you. We go forward several years, to her and her father, played by Jim Beaver, living in Buffalo, of all places. Random. Well, at least, it isn't Maine. Edith is pursuing a career as a writer, and she is, shock of all shocks, a very forward thinking woman, who doesn't want to only write romances. No, she prefers to write about ghosts. She also turns up her nose at the news of a new stranger arriving from England, a Sir Thomas Sharpe, who is, according to the ladies, charming, handsome and a wonderful dancer. Who could it be? Yes, you guessed it, Tom Hiddleston.
Anyway, Thomas is visiting America looking for funds to build some kind of clay retrieval mechanism. Red clay, of course, that is beneath his house. Well, his house and his sister's. Lady Lucille Sharpe, played by Jessica Chastain, has also accompanied him. Some people are fond of the pair; others are not. If you ask me, these two make me reminiscent of a Creepy Donny and Marie fan fiction I once came across. Make of that what you will. Anyway, Thomas begins to charm Edith, much to the chagrin of her father, as well as the local doctor, Alan McMichael, played by Charlie Hunnan, who fancies the young woman. But nothing doing. Once the Sharpe siblings finish their business in America, to say nothing of a few...events that take place. they return to their grand-ish home across the pond. And, as it is evident by the trailer, Edith accompanies them as Thomas's new wife. Oh, and did I mention that the first thing that attracts Thomas to Edith is the fact that she is a writer? Hmmm... I sure hope that life imitates art on that one, because I, in case you were not aware, am a writer. Holy smokes. This clearly would mean that if Hiddleston found out that I write, and that I write poetry, which he claims to love, he'd be putty in my paws. O-kay, then... Stalker Mode Off. Moving on.
Once we arrive in England, we begin to enjoy some elevated ghostly shenanigans, as well as a bit of a mystery that must be solved. I sure didn't see that one coming after the blatant Sir Arthur Conan Doyle name drop. Actually, one cannot blame Edith for feeling suspicious, as pretty much everyone in this movie is, at the very least, kind of unsettling. It's at this point where the mood and atmosphere that del Toro is known for truly begins to shine. This film does have an uneasy feel to it, and there are some moments of real tension. A few. Yeah, to be fair, I was hoping for more. Honestly, despite the fantastic set up, I felt that things moved rather slowly, and I found myself just waiting for things to happen. However, the moments that were supposed to grab you really did. The good parts were very good. Also, the effects were pretty darn cool. It's like what the 1999 remake of The Haunting could have been...if anyone gave a crap.
Now, I will say that there were a few interesting twists and turns in the story, but some of it was a tad predictable. There were some things that we find out about certain characters, and you would have had to have been asleep, or dumb, to not have guessed it. Also, the reasons for the actions of the characters made me just think, "Wow, really? Wanna add a mafia subplot, too? It worked for Moment By Moment. Or not." In the very, very end, though, things do pick up enough that it made it all rather exciting. Also, a bit gruesome, but, again, del Toro.
So, there are good things I can say about Crimson Peak. As expected, it looks absolutely stunning, from the costumes to the sets to the effects. It is quite a feast for the eyes, as they say. And, of course, the acting was wonderful. As mentioned, I certainly enjoyed myself some Tom Hiddleston, and Jessica Chastain gets a stamp of "Mission Accomplished" for her job of freaking me the heck out. Even Mia Wasikowksa wasn't as...um...Alice in Wonderland-y with her acting as she tends to be. Except for that vampire movie where she was just annoying, but I think that was the point of her character there, so hats off.
Bottom line, I would say that Crimson Peak is worth a view on the big screen, if for nothing else than just the visuals. It will certainly draw you in. If you want to go see it, go ahead. I certainly won't tell you not to do so. I know I had a few complaints, but it wasn't bad. It was actually quite good, just not as much as I let myself be "hyped" into believing. But I still think Guillermo del Toro is a brilliant film maker. I still hope he is the one to take the helm if we decide to give The Island of Dr. Moreau another shot. And I can't be mad at Tom Hiddleston ever. Although, when he said he preferred Star Wars to Star Trek, I could have slapped him. What? He would have earned that one!
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
