Guillermo del Toro is the director of the new horror film “Crimson Peak,” which does not seem to inspire a single scream or interest. The film becomes the opposite of what del Toro had in mind, who dared to think that “Crimson Peak” would be a groundbreaking film in the horror genre. He thought this film could reach the level of films like, “The Exorcist,” “The Innocents,” “The Omen” or “The Shining.” No, del Toro, no, it will not.
Heroine Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is an aspiring American author with an eye for the supernatural. When compared to Jane Austen, however, Edith replied she would rather be author Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein), “who died a widow.”
Edith falls for the charming, if slightly frayed, British baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) at the same time that her widowed father (Jim Beaver) is enigmatically murdered. Edith becomes blind to Sharpe’s affections. Nothing keeps her in Buffalo, NY, after her father’s death, thus, she accompanies her groom to his English countryside mansion, Allerdale Hall, with his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain). There is something odd between the Sharpe siblings that it is immediately conspicuous and nearly comically reinforced, as Chastain’s character stares with such hostility at Edith in virtually every shot.
The film is not, nor will it ever be, striking or memorable, and the reason for it is because it is a simplistic story. It is the kind of material teenagers nowadays live to devour. It tries to draw influence from films such as, “Rebecca” (1940) or “Jane Eyre” (any of the novel’s multiple film adaptations). However, the film becomes a juvenile version of those movies. In part, all of the film’s failures should be blamed on the weak script, penned by del Toro and Matthew Robbins. Universal Studios took the risk hiring a Disney screenwriter and this is the product: a story that claims not to be a ghost story yet has ghosts in it.
The real controversy behind “Crimson Peak” is that Universal wanted the film to be rated PG-13. On the other hand, del Toro wanted the opposite. He wanted the film to be an R-rated movie. The director fought a long and arduous battle with Universal to make the the studio’s executives change their mind. This morphed into one of those brawls in which del Toro tried to prove to Universal that it can be done. Nevertheless, the final product is already out and all of del Toro’s efforts are now considered futile. He better eat his words.
There are a few R-rated moments in the film, including the sex scene between Edith and Thomas, but the only nude image lasts two seconds long and it is a part of Hiddleston’s rear end. “Crimson Peak” could very much have been a PG-13-rated film. Nothing is too graphic, violent or boorish.
It is for these and other reasons that Universal refused to finance the film and decided to only finance the advertising and marketing campaign of “Crimson Peak.” It is also why del Toro had to pay out of pocket, because he could not accept the studio’s request, or rather stipulation, to make a PG-13-rated film. Out of stubbornness “Crimson Peak” suffered, despite being one of del Toro’s favorite movies to have co-written and directed.
Fine. The murders (spoiler alert) are gory—in a way-too-exaggerated, too-over-the-top manner. In fact, the killer, without mentioning who dies or who is the murderer, has incredibly implausible strength. It almost becomes ludicrous.
The performances are decent, but since the characters are so idiotically written, the viewer is incapable to feel any sympathy toward them. Instead of the script triggering some dramatic and frightening performances out of the actors, their performances become rather comical. Actually the film itself is a horror comedy by serendipity, rather than the gothic romance it yearns to be.
Do not expect “Crimson Peak” to become part of the AFI’s list of 100 Thrills, where films like “Psycho,” “Jaws” and “North by Northwest” have a much deserved spot. “Crimson Peak” is only a showcase of Brandt Gordon’s work as the art director of this film. If there is something that the film does succeed at, it is constructing the most eye candy of sets, even though the production had trouble with lightning as well.
Sadly, the entire film just fell short.
