Given that for Spooktober I decided to take into consideration a movie that we may call a “posthumously-trashy” horror, for this month I will follow through with a movie that is on the better side of the frightening and nail-biting spectrum. Crimson Peak is referred to as a gothic romance film, but I would dare call it a psychological thriller just as well. It was made in 2015 by Guillermo del Toro and stars Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam.
Del Toro’s touch is perceived through his flair for macabre stories and through his talent to direct visually stunning scenes that combine with impeccable narrative elements. Crimson Peak would be a perfect addition to Guillermo del Toro’s saga or maybe the beginning of a new one; several scenes are reminiscent of what the he had already accomplished with his first Trilogy (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth). The movie itself is also inspired by other classics such as Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Cuckor’s Gaslight (almost an homage considering the theme portrayed).
The suspense element is interwoven in the story with every single technique Del Toro can think of. The dark colors of many scenes are juxtaposed to the brighter ones when the actions depict normality; then of course there is the use of vivid reds, especially when considering that the mansion of Crimson Peak is positioned on top of a clay pit that produces a dark-red soil. Combine the use of colors with an eerie music and flawless sound effects and the resulting suspense will keep viewers on the proverbial edge of their seat.
Perspectives heavily contribute to the movie: the zoom-ins reflect the inner-worlds of the main characters and their emotions (be it intimacy, hesitation, anger glares or jealous stares) whereas the distorted camera positions from time to time give a sense of overwhelming immensity of the mansion itself.
The dialogues are well-written and although they feel a bit pompous, they do so to replicate the timeframe the story is set in, this being at the very end of the nineteenth century.
An interesting suggestion could come from the main character herself who is also a writer and begins the movie by saying that ‘ghosts are real’; the unnatural and nerve-wrecking sub-plots could be an indicator or a metaphor for the disbelief or the delirious moments she has to face given what is being done to her. In other words, her imagination running rampant would be a defensive mechanism for her own circumstance.
Either way, Crimson Peak is played out perfectly and deserves to be watched, hopefully during the core of the night, with lights shut and on a big screen.
I would give this movie a solid 8.5 out of 10 crimson footsteps on candid snow.