Step Inside an Old House That Holds Deadly Secrets

Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska in "Crimson Peak"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com 

Guillermo del Toro is a director whose visionary eye has brought us films that revel in resplendent imagery that can be either fantastical, disturbing, or both.  With a laudable filmography that includes “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Hellboy,” “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,” “Pacific Rim,” and “Blade 2,” he has shown himself to be a true master of crafting stories that focus on a coexistence of humans and monsters.

In his gothic romance/haunted-house chiller, “Crimson Peak,” del Toro succeeds, once again, in creating a world that invites us in with its beautiful designs.  While the story itself doesn’t quite reach the greatness we have seen in some of del Toro’s other films, it still succeeds in showing him as a director of true artistic ambition.

At the turn of the 20th century, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is an aspiring author living in Buffalo, New York.  After meeting Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), an English aristocrat, the two fall in love and marry.  Following the marriage, Edith moves to England with Thomas and his sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain), and begins her new life in the siblings’ isolated mansion, Allerdale Hall.  Not too long into her marriage, Edith soon realizes the house carries dark secrets, ones that quickly put her life in grave danger.

Mia Wasikowska and Tom Hiddleston have plenty of chemistry and are perfectly serviceable in their roles, but it’s Jessica Chastain who provides the most memorable performance.  Although she has largely played benevolent characters in her films, Chastain completely dives into Lucille’s strange behavior, supplying the film with a considerable portion of its terror.  Whenever she’s on screen, you can’t help but tense up because you always know there’s something lurking beneath her character’s facade of serenity.

Guillermo del Toro’s films succeed in fully capturing the worlds his characters inhabit.  With the help of Dan Laustsen’s cinematography, Allerdale Hall is gorgeously framed.  From the extensive snow-covered ground to the dark hallways, Laustsen shows us the decaying mansion that recalls a past elegance that seems to be far from reclamation.  His camerawork provides us with a strong sense of our surroundings as we become familiar with the dark depths of the house that hold its darker secrets.

The screenplay by del Toro and Matthew Robbins takes a classic ghost story approach to its narrative, while also including some influences to Alfred Hitchcock’s films “Rebecca” and “Notorious.”  The narrative is a well-paced story, taking its time to establish the dynamic between Edith and Thomas before bringing us to Allerdale Hall.  However, the film becomes rather predictable as it progresses.  Del Toro is one of the most creative filmmakers working today, so it was a bit of letdown that the story didn’t have as many interesting ideas as some of his other films.

Although “Crimson Peak” could have had a stronger screenplay, you can still sense the love for filmmaking Guillermo del Toro puts into his movies.  Much like his other films, the atmosphere he establishes instantly draws you in, and his ability to produce intoxicating visuals is still as strong as ever.  With that, it’ll be worth your time to visit del Toro’s house of horrors.

Final grade: B