La cumbre escarlata

Guillermo del Toro is a director and artist whose films fall into two distinct categories: big budget English language blockbusters like "Hellboy" and "Pacific Rim" and lesser known, low budget Spanish language horror films like "Devil's Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth". His latest film, "Crimson Peak" is what happens when these two worlds collide, in other words, a big budget English language horror film.

"Crimson Peak" is set in the late 19th century, first in New York, then in rural England. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is a young budding writer who is intelligent, beautiful, and strong willed, refusing to allow Victorian sensibilities dictate what she can and cannot do, and as a result butts heads with those around her. Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) is an English aristocrat and inventor who is in New York seeking financial backing for his mechanized clay mining business back home. When tragedy strikes, Thomas marries Edith and brings her to his home, Allerdale Hall in Cumberland, where his sister Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain) is waiting. As Edith tries to fit into her new surroundings, she discovers that secrets abound and nothing is as it seems.

The visuals in "Crimson Peak" are so glorious, they are almost overwhelming. The sets are spectacular visions of beauty and decadence in decay; costumes are intricately detailed and gorgeous; the lighting and over saturated color bring depth and meaning; the ghosts are grotesquely beautiful; and, of course, the del Toro trademarks of insects and clockwork gracefully found their way into the story as well.

Because "Crimson Peak" is a rather large studio production, it is being marketed to a large audience. I believe this accounts for some of the lackluster reviews I have been reading. If one is not familiar with del Toro's prior Spanish language films, they may not understand his unique cinematic perspective. For some, this will mark the beginning of a journey into del Toro's fantasy world, for others it will be a disappointment. For me, it was almost everything I wanted it to be.

Guillermo del Toro is that kind of superstar director that brings audiences to the seats no matter the genre of film. Much like Nolan, Spielberg, and Tarantino, Del Toro draws fans to see the next visual spectacle he brings to the screen. Make no mistake about it, Crimson Peak is an awe to see on the big screen, especially in IMAX. Unfortunately I think the marketing team hurt Del Toro's film this time around. The trailers were centered around this house and the ghosts that supposedly haunted it. While I loved the trailers for what they were, they didn't properly represent the movie as it actually is, which is most definitely a Gothic romance.

The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, and Charlie Hunnam. We focus on Edith, played by Wasikowska as she deals with a recent family tragedy without anywhere to go and no one to stay with. Enter Hiddleston and Chastain, playing Thomas and Lucille respectively, who seem to target Edith specifically. As Thomas and Edith grow closer to each other, he brings her to his childhood house, which is conveniently miles away from the next home or any part of civilization. It also happens to have an issue with the red clay that stains the snow around the house and floods underneath during the winter. This gives the whole feel of the movie a bloody undertone.

While the film isn't really a horror film, it certainly has frightening elements. Edith is constantly haunted by not only the ghosts of Crimson Peak but her mother's for whom she basing a book around. The strongest aspect of Crimson Peak is the visual spectacle you're given. Whether it's the costume design, special effects, or the sets themselves, this film is gorgeous. So there's no denying that seeing it in theaters is the way to go. The problem is that the film itself isn't all that original, and the characters aren't all that interesting. The first act is rather slow but the climax most definitely makes the film worth seeing. The performances are all great, in particular Wasikowska and Chastain, which in some way make up for the lack of character development. Go see the movie if you want to see a visual spectacle, but not if you want a horror-ghost centered film.

+Visually stunning

+Performances all around

+Climax

-Not all that scary

-Starts slow

6.8/10

I hate skipping plot summaries when I write one of these, but I think it's probably best when discussing Crimson Peak. The plot here isn't all that important. Crimson Peak is one of those "style over substance" movies. The plot takes a backseat to the cinematography, lighting, costumes, sets, special effects, and just about anything else you can list that makes a movie look good. And what plot there is in Crimson Peak is so filled with holes, I fear that dwelling on it will only make me like the movie less. I'll just say that the plot left me with more questions than it answered.

If films are art, Crimson Peak belongs next to the Mona Lisa. It is one of the most stunning pieces of film I've ever seen. Every frame looks like a painting. I'm not sure I've seen a film this beautiful since I watched House of Flying Daggers over ten years ago. The colors, the shadows, the lights - gorgeous. My absolute favorite image (and I'm not alone based on what I've read across the internet) is the ceiling-less grand hall in the rotting great house. It's amazing. Another element that really helps the images come alive is the atmosphere. I may not care for Guillermo del Toro's plot, but there's not denying his skill as a director. He mastfully fills the film with atmosphere so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Combine the atmosphere with the visuals and you end up with a movie I'm going to enjoy on some level despite its other flaws.

The acting in Crimson Peak is hit or miss. Normally, I feel that Tom Hiddleston outshines his co-stars, Here, however, he's completely over-shadowed by Jessica Chastain. She acts circles around everyone else in the film. Her role is the smallest of the three main characters, but she dominates everything - even the scenes she's not in.

Overall, if you're a fan of gothic romance/horror/mystery (although the horror elements don't come to much and the solution to the mystery is all too obvious) you owe it to yourself to check out his gorgeous film.

This film is visually amazing. Anyone familiar with some of Del Toro's other work will see a lot of his signature visual touches, which is far from being a bad thing, and the design of the ghosts was refreshingly innovative and blended into the overall visual style. The plot is interesting once it gets going, however slightly predictable.

Sadly, there are some noticeable downsides. The most obvious one is how slowly this film starts, with seemingly very little happening for the first twenty or so minutes. The focus is very heavily on the plot, and while some characters are developed more slowly because it ties in with the plot, others can feel underdeveloped. When this is combined with the slow start, it makes the first part of this film fairly boring. Some of the chronology of this film can seem slightly strange as well, when scrutinised.

However, despite its faults, this is still a good film and worth watching. 7/10

This was highly anticipated film. The director didn't succeeded in fulfilling the expectations of audience and not at all film-critics. Still this picture does not belong to the category of completely useless pictures that you wouldn't enjoy.

The art design including costumes, scenery, stylization, camera operating and everything made to satisfy the eye is perfectly done with detail. The topic for it's self must be the house of the Sharp family. The building has its own spirit, which the characters itself unfortunately lack.

And characters is the next important thing to talk about. There is quite a top actors basis. Mia Wasikowska representing a young Victorian woman absolutely fits. Tom Hiddleston as the wanted perfect man with dark secrets is a natural choice. And finally the amazing Jessica Chastain showed a perfect performance as the evil sister. She nearly stole the whole spectacle for herself. But still it does not work very well. The main problem is that the relationship between Edith and Thomas is not believable. They lack ''chemistry''. Some converging and strongly intimate scenes are missing. The other problem is Edith Cushing herself. When arriving at the house, she suddenly changes from an intelligent emancipated woman to classic scared horror virgin type who needs a protection and loses a good deal of sympathy.

The story itself is predictable, and so does not need to be focused on. Maybe the reason is that Guillermo del Torro planned to shoot this picture a long time ago and he simply lost the connection with the topic and focused on technical stuff. On the other hand, this is an opportunity to see a pure cliché, not meant in a bad way, horror- drama movie with all its attributes and great visual quality. The treatment with sounds for increasing the tension is comparable to The Woman in Black (2012).

It does not deserve to be strongly criticized nor praised, but since I'm fan of all three actors and Guillermo del Toro, I must say I enjoyed it quite a lot.