Monday, October 19, 2015

Crimson Peak: 13 Nerdy Nights of Horror Year 2 - Day 8



                I’ve said before that Guillermo Del Toro is one of the best visionary directors of our generation. Whether it’d be films he’s directed like “Pan’s Labyrinth,” or films he’s produced like “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” it’s always a marvel to look at the whole way through. So with his newest film, “Crimson Peak,” you can imagine that I was looking forward to watching this, especially for the Halloween season. Does the film seem fitting for the season? Well, let’s take a look.

            The film tells of Edith, a young girl who loses her mother at a young age and feels the presence of ghosts ever since then. Years later, she meets Thomas Sharpe, a man desperate for investors for his clay mining machine, and the two feel an attraction toward each other. After Edith’s father is murdered, she decides to then marry Thomas and live with him and his sister, only to feel an ominous aura while living there.

            One of the major highlights about this film is the production value. The designs and look of the set are simply majestic to look at, and it’s something that Del Toro truly dedicates himself to. A fun little fact that I found out afterward was that it was a real manor they used. No CGI, they built that manor from the bottom up and it payed off. I also love how they established that the house oozes the clay that they mine for, and you have moments where you can see it out of the corner of the screen. The effects with the ghosts also pretty impressive. While I am the kind of person that thinks what you DON’T see is scarier than what you DO see, I will admit the designs of the ghosts really add a strong chilling factor to them, which hint at what these ghosts might have died from. And trust me, when people get killed, it is BRUTAL AS HELL.

            The performances in the film were also pretty damn good themselves. Mia Wasikowska as Edith gives a really damn good performance, showing both great determination and great fear when the scenes call for it. She really does prove she’s got strong acting chops, making it my favorite of her work since “Lawless” back in 2012. Charlie Hunnam returns to work with Del Toro again after “Pacific Rim,” playing Dr. Alan McMichael. He’s charming, he’s likable, and is portrayed as a family friend of Edith’s, as opposed to being a love interest like you’d expect.

            However, the best performances in the film come from Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain as Thomas and Lucille Sharpe. Hiddleston gives his character such grace, such dignity, and such charisma, you can’t help but like him, even when you catch on to his intentions. That’s not to say he’s the complete villain of the film, as he does end up trying to redeem himself. No, the full on villain role goes to Lucille Sharpe, and I have to say this is one of Jessica Chastain’s best performances. She just goes all out with this character and…I really want to talk about her, but I don’t want to risk spoiling the film.

            Now do I have any complaints about the film? Well, the only major complaint I have with the film is its repetition. There were a few moments that felt like they were repeating themselves, which does feel like the film trying to pad itself up to two hours, which didn’t really need that. But aside from that, there wasn’t much about it that I didn’t like, as the rest of the film manages to still hold out well. I know a lot of people were pissed off that the film wasn’t entirely about ghosts, but that’s mostly because of the marketing team not representing it right. Del Toro did say that this was more of a Gothic romance than a horror film, so there you have it.

            Overall, “Crimson Peak” is a film that, while I did want more of, I still feel comfortable recommending. It’s visually stunning, the performances are great, and it’s perfect for the month of Halloween. Is it my favorite horror film of the year? Oh no…I’m saving THAT for the end.


Rating: 8/10

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