Crimson Peak (2015) Director: Guillermo del Toro (15)
Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak is a thing of beauty, a gothic 'thriller' but not quite the chiller that you may have thought was coming from the pre-film press.
It's a rather confused affair with ghosts that lack bite; a cert 15, there's no real horror here except some rather nasty violence early on in the film, a bit of Tom Hiddleston bum cheek baring (hooray!) and some sweaty goings on that our protagonist Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) stumbles upon.
Its gothic delivery cannot be criticised - we have a chilling mansion where the walls ooze with blood red gunk (red clay, honest), late night wandering of old, dark corridors with candlebras, haunting piano music, and things that go bump in the night. The costumes are TO DIE FOR, seriously impressive, and there's one scene where Jessica Chastain's Lucille takes flight down the stairs, with her gown billowing behind her. It's stunning.
The actual ghosts in the mansion of the strange Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) and his sister Lucille are pretty much superfluous to the story. This movie isn't about the ghosts. It actually works by itself as a thriller, with Edith falling for the eerie charms of Thomas and moving from America - in grief about her recently deceased father - to be with him in his big ol' mansion in Cumberland, England. Sir Thomas and his sister have a very curious relationship indeed, which unfolds as we find out the true story behind them and their abode.
Del Toro created the nightmare that is the Pale Man, so we expected more scares from the restless souls of Crimson Peak. That may have put some audiences off, but take it for what it is and it's a film that deserves to be enjoyed by anyone who loves the aesethics of true filmmaking. Lap it up.
3/5 black moths
Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak is a thing of beauty, a gothic 'thriller' but not quite the chiller that you may have thought was coming from the pre-film press.
It's a rather confused affair with ghosts that lack bite; a cert 15, there's no real horror here except some rather nasty violence early on in the film, a bit of Tom Hiddleston bum cheek baring (hooray!) and some sweaty goings on that our protagonist Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) stumbles upon.
Its gothic delivery cannot be criticised - we have a chilling mansion where the walls ooze with blood red gunk (red clay, honest), late night wandering of old, dark corridors with candlebras, haunting piano music, and things that go bump in the night. The costumes are TO DIE FOR, seriously impressive, and there's one scene where Jessica Chastain's Lucille takes flight down the stairs, with her gown billowing behind her. It's stunning.
The actual ghosts in the mansion of the strange Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) and his sister Lucille are pretty much superfluous to the story. This movie isn't about the ghosts. It actually works by itself as a thriller, with Edith falling for the eerie charms of Thomas and moving from America - in grief about her recently deceased father - to be with him in his big ol' mansion in Cumberland, England. Sir Thomas and his sister have a very curious relationship indeed, which unfolds as we find out the true story behind them and their abode.
Del Toro created the nightmare that is the Pale Man, so we expected more scares from the restless souls of Crimson Peak. That may have put some audiences off, but take it for what it is and it's a film that deserves to be enjoyed by anyone who loves the aesethics of true filmmaking. Lap it up.
3/5 black moths
Comments
Post a Comment