Crimson Peak review: One of the year’s biggest disappointments…
Crimson Peak review
Guillermo del Toro kind of returns to the horror genre with his 2015 effort Crimson Peak, a film that reunites him with Pacific Rim star Charlie Hunnam, along with lead actors Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowski.
The film revolves around Wasikowski’s character of Edith Cushing (yes, del Toro named her after the famous Hammer star Peter), who, following a very horrific family tragedy, is carted away from her homeland in Buffalo, New York to the region of Cumberland (now Cumbria) in the north of England after she marries the extremely charming Englishman Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). Living with them in the massive old mansion is Sharpe’s sister Lucille who is as equally as mysterious as her brother, and her intentions unknown. The marital home seems to be haunted, inhabited by visions of former inhabitants, which Edith can clearly see, their messages trying to communicate something to the young woman, who may have bigger problems to be concerned with.
Crimson Peak review
Del Toro is absolutely clear that his latest offering isn’t a direct horror movie, but with all of the jump scares, haunted houses and a clear nod to the Hammer Horror movies of old, he could have fooled us. The long, drawn out story that he co-wrote with frequent collaborator Matthew Robbins, is a relatively basic, run-of-the-mill affair with no real substance; a ghost story with a twist, which actually isn’t really all that hard to figure out. The script, which while akin to his masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth fails to engage or entertain us anywhere near as much as that movie did, and the dialogue, particularly some of Hiddleston’s lines, are very clichéd and corny, and you can also almost guess where proceedings are going to lead to next. However, Charlie Hunnam also pops up as a cartoon-like character with an amazing haircut.
Hiddleston is fine in the role of Sharpe, as is Chastain, though you’d kind of expect much more from these hugely talented actors. Wasikowski stumbles from one scene to another in her ankle-length virginal nightgown and holds her own. In fact, the entire cast are just about okay, but nothing really more than that.
Crimson Peak review
I’ve walked away from Crimson Peak relatively unsatisfied, which is something I’d never thought I’d say about one of del Toro’s films, as I loved Pan’s Labyrinth, and even Pacific Rim to a degree. The film, while bloody and graphically violent in places, is very light on scares and suspense, and while the material is uncomfortable in places, it’s totally laughable in others.
With big promises, Crimson Peak has turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Obviously timed for release to co-inside with the Halloween season, that, while looking really very good on the big screen in terms of its production design and cinematography, this scare-less del Toro effort should probably be left for the streaming or home markets. It just isn’t good enough.
Crimson Peak review by Paul Heath, October 2015.
Crimson Peak is released in UK and US cinemas on Friday 16th October, 2015.
