Crimson Peak wants to be a haunted-house romance and a gothic horror film at once. It mostly succeeds at neither. The 2015 film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, stars Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, a young American heiress who marries a British baronet, played by Tom Hiddleston, and moves to his crumbling family estate in the English countryside. What follows is a slow-burn descent into nightmare, complete with ghosts, red stains, and a mansion that seems to have a life of its own. The result is a film that is often beautiful, occasionally terrifying, and ultimately frustrating.
Trailer, via Legendary.
Edith Cushing and the Baronet
Wasikowska plays Edith as a woman of intelligence and curiosity, eager to escape her sheltered life in Buffalo. Her marriage to the baronet, Lord Blackwood, is arranged in part to settle a debt. Hiddleston, in a performance that leans heavily into his stage-trained melodrama, plays the baronet as charming, brooding, and deeply unsettling. The chemistry between the two leads is the film’s strongest asset, but it is also the film’s biggest problem. Their romance is meant to be a slow burn, but the film’s pacing and its insistence on supernatural dread over human drama mean the relationship never quite takes off.
The supporting cast is solid. Jessica Chastain plays Lady Lucille Sharpe, Edith’s mother-in-law, as a cold and calculating presence who runs the estate with an iron fist. Charlie Hunnam plays Dr. Alan McTeer, a doctor who investigates the strange occurrences at the manor. Jim Broadbent rounds out the ensemble as Dr. Garrett Marsh, a scientist who believes in the existence of ghosts. These characters are well-drawn, but they are also secondary to the central mystery of the Blackwood estate.
The Mansion and Its Stains
The Blackwood estate is the real star of Crimson Peak. Del Toro has always had a gift for creating memorable sets, and the manor is a triumph of production design. It is dark, decaying, and dripping with atmosphere. The titular crimson stains, which appear after ghostly encounters, are a visual motif that recurs throughout the film. They are both beautiful and horrifying, a reminder that beauty can be used to disguise horror.
The film’s use of color is deliberate. The early scenes in Buffalo are bright and warm, while the later scenes in England are cold and gray. This contrast is effective, but it also creates a tonal shift that some viewers may find jarring. The film’s score, composed by Carter Burwell, is moody and atmospheric, though it sometimes drowns out the dialogue in quieter moments.
Ghosts and Secrets
The supernatural elements are where Crimson Peak stumbles. The ghosts are present, but their motivations are unclear. They seem to be connected to the Blackwood family’s past, but the film never fully explains why they haunt the manor. The red stains are similarly mysterious. They appear after ghostly encounters, but their meaning is left unexplored. This lack of clarity is frustrating, especially in a film that spends so much time building tension around these phenomena.
The plot itself is a slow burn. The film spends its first half establishing Edith’s arrival at the estate, her growing unease, and the strange occurrences that follow. The second half picks up pace, but it feels rushed. The reveal of the film’s central secret is abrupt, and the resolution feels unsatisfying. The film ends on a cliffhanger, but the setup for that sequel never arrives. As a standalone story, Crimson Peak is incomplete.
The Romance That Never Takes Off
The romance between Edith and the baronet is the emotional core of the film, but it is underdeveloped. Their interactions are often tense, with the baronet’s affection seeming to mask a darker nature. Wasikowska and Hiddleston have the chemistry to make this work, but the script never gives them the space to explore it. The film’s obsession with ghosts and secrets leaves little room for character development beyond surface-level tension.
The film’s ending is particularly problematic. After a climax that is both visually impressive and emotionally hollow, the film cuts to a scene that suggests the baronet has survived. It is a tease, a promise of a sequel that never materialized. For a film that spent so much time setting up its world, this ending feels like a betrayal of the audience’s time.
A Beautiful Failure
Crimson Peak is a visually stunning film that fails to deliver a coherent narrative. Del Toro’s direction is confident, and his eye for detail is evident in every frame. The performances are strong, particularly from Wasikowska and Chastain. The production design is outstanding, and the score is atmospheric. But the film’s flaws are too numerous to ignore.
The pacing is uneven, the supernatural elements are underexplained, and the romance is underdeveloped. The film’s ending leaves the audience hanging, and the promise of a sequel that never arrived makes the experience feel incomplete. Despite its strengths, Crimson Peak is a flawed film that never quite reaches its potential.
Key Facts
– Title: Crimson Peak
– Director: Guillermo del Toro
– Lead actors: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain
– Runtime: 122 minutes
– Score: 6.6/10
Crimson Peak is a beautiful failure. It is a film that looks amazing but fails to deliver a satisfying story. The mansion is unforgettable, the ghosts are eerie, and the performances are strong. But the central romance is underdeveloped, the supernatural elements are underexplained, and the ending is a tease that never pays off. It is a film worth seeing for its visuals and performances, but not a film that rewards repeat viewing.
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