Movie Review
Review Crimson Peak
Having been a fan of Guillermo Del Toro for some time now, I had expected 'Crimson Peak' to be his next great masterpiece. Although the movie didn't meet my expectations, I can't say that it disappointed them either.
Taking place in the late 1800's, young woman Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is the daughter of a wealthy industrialist and is an aspiring author who writes ghost stories with the hope of being Mary Shelly rather then Jane Austin. Her latest book is turned away for not having much romance. Visiting English baronet Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) takes an immediate liking to Edith as he tries to raise capital for an invention from her father. He and his sister Lucile (Jessica Chastain) are turned away and don't blend in well with the New York upper class. Her father is unexpectedly murdered, leaving Edith little to contemplate, so she marries Thomas and moves with him back to England. She sees the dilapidated mansion he's lived on since he was a boy, which is in bad condition and is sinking into the clay-like Earth that he's trying to harvest. As Edith settles in, Thomas becomes distant while Lucile becomes more cold towards her brothers wife. Each night comes as a shock as strange noises and floating spirits are spotted. They may be trying to tell Edith of the darker story behind the house and the brother and sister who live there.
Crimson Peak fails to cash in on its stellar cast. We have Hiddleston, Chastain, Wasikowska, and Del Toro's golden goose Hunnam, doing the honours through their brilliant acting. We have got the horror pro Toro in the vanguard running the reels. Still, what goes wrong? The only thing I can say is: "Predictable". Don't get me wrong, the movie is fun to watch and it has a cool scenery but the problem is that, in the first 15 minutes of the movie, you already know what will happen (similar to a chick flick). So basically, the only thrilling thing about it is how the main character will figure everything out, (something that you already did), and how the extremely fake ghosts will jump-scare you.
Something that confused me and wasn't answered at the end was that Edith's mother ghost warns her at the beginning of the movie to beware of Crimson Peak. No where in the movie did it explain how she was connected which I think if this was explained or if she was in someway connected to Crimson Peak, this should have been explained.
Tom Hiddleston & Mia Wasikowska chemistry doesn't ignite sparks either, and you begin to wonder how mediocre love could be. At first, Jessica's presence as a dark, brooding character took a little getting used to, but by the time the climax unfolds, you fully appreciate her ability to take a risk and play such a cold character as apposed to past protagonist roles in Interstellar, and this year's hit, The Martian.
I'll give this six Victorian era ghost photos out of ten. Crimson Peak may not be as scary as it thinks it is, I enjoyed myself while I was looking at it. I doubt I'll remember these characters and their motivations, but I will remember the house.
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