Review 367: Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak is a glorious Gothic Romance, one that's a showcase for Guillermo Del Toro's visual talents as well as a series of diabolical twists.

In 1901, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is an aspiring author who as a child was visited by her mother's ghost who warns her "Beware of Crimson Peak" is whisked off her feet by the handsome Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) who is seeking investors for his Clay Mining inventions. Following a family tragedy Edith marries Thomas and moves with to his dilapidated mansion Allerdale Hall in Engalnd, which is also known as "Crimson Peak" as it sits on top of a red clay mine,  where Thomas lives with his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain). Soon Edith is haunted by ghosts inside the mansion and finds that Thomas, Lucille and the house harbour dark secrets.

Firstly, let me start off by saying that this is by no means a Horror Movie, it's a Gothic Romance they're both entirely different genres. However it combines several other genres, it's a bit of period drama, it's a bit murder mystery, tiny bit of horror, smidge of romance. It's a very dark love story. A very twisted love story with a number of jaw dropping twists.

Ultimately, Crimson Peak is about what people do for love and how far are they willing to go to and even death; Even though, Lucille is manipulative and cold, everything she does is for love and therefore she believes what she's doing is justifiable in her eyes.

Thomas has a long history of loss in his past and when Edith enters his life, something about her makes her the ultimate one in his eyes and he'll go to any lengths to protect her.

Initially, Edith is struck by Thomas but weary of him but as they spend time together, she begins to see his good side and ultimately falls in love with him and she is the one who ultimately sets him free.

It's not evidant, but it's hinted that Dr. Alan McMcMichael may also be in love with Edith, the film forces you to question that as you don't weather he is or isn't.

Guillermo Del Toro's direction is stylish and exciting providing the an apropriately creepy and mysterious atmosphere and emersing you into this time period,, the production design is lavish, Allerdale Hall is a decaying, delapithated creepy location sitting on top of a red clay mine which itself are the keeper of secrets for the Sharpe family. It really is the underbelly of the house and of what's been happening there throughout the years. All the secrets are in the cellars.

The special effects are elegant, the cinematography is gorgeous and captures beauty of Bufflo, America as well as the creepiness of the English Country, the score by Fernando Velázquez is beautiful, the costumes are lush and extravagant, the props are beautifully crafted, the make up is rich and beautifully detailed,.

It's also a triumph for the acting, Mia Wasikowska gives ernest and kind performance as Edith Cushing, she is a good person and she believes in the essential goodness of people. I also believe she is our audience surrogate, we learn everything Allerdale Hall and the Sharpes with her. When ghosts start appearing around the house, she is the only one who can see them. They terrify her, she's on her own in the Haunted Mansion, she's vulnerable, she's in the unknown, she doesn't know what they are warning her about and I really felt her fear and

Tom Hiddleston continues to impress greatly as Sir Thomas Sharpe, he perfectly suits the bill of the handsome, dashing, charismatic hero archetype, but he also has a mystery about him, a dark past, which makes him all the more interesting.

Jessica Chastain gives a deliciously chilling performance as Lady Lucille Sharpe, she is the total opposite of Thomas, she's cold and has a sinister presence about her. She doesn't like to be outside the comfort of the home she grew up in. She also has a lot of dark secrets and she's trying hard to contain them. Part of the beauty of this film is finding out what those secrets are. If Edith reads any sort of coldness from her, she (nor the audience for that matter) would imagine it was for some darker purpose.

Charlie Hunnam is also very strong as Dr. Alan McMichael, he and Edith have a history as they have known each other since childhood. He's very fond of her, he cares about her and warns her to be careful around the Sharpes. He's also a very proactive character in that he's a doctor and always trying to find new medicines as well as doing his own detective work, trying to figure out more about the Sharpes.

Jim Beaver, Burn Gorman and Leslie Hope round out the cast with

Also very good in the movie are actors, Jim Beaver as Carter Cushing, Edith's father, Burn Gorman,  and whom McMichael later consults on his rescue mission for Edith and well as Leslie Hope as Alan McMichael.

Crimson Peak deserves to be called, as the misleading trailer puts it, Guillermo Del Toro's ultimate masterpiece, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.