By Staci Layne Wilson
@StaciWilson

Crimson Peak, the new film from visual stylist Gulliermo del Toro, is an affectionate throwback to the slow-burn Gothic horror movies of the late 30s and 1940s. It reminded me of silvery black and white classics like House on Haunted Hill, Gaslight, Rebecca, Dragonwyck, Wuthering Heights, et al – except of course that Crimson Peak lives up to its title and is awash with glorious, saturated color. Some scenes scream “grandeur!” while others whisper spooky ghost stories softly – it’s a gorgeous and slick flick, to be sure.

The tale begins in Buffalo, New York in 1901 and it follows the tragic, terrifying journey of American heiress Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), orphaned and alone… until she’s spirited away to Allerdale Hall, a less-than-enchanting English estate, by her dashing and romantic new beau, the titled but penniless Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and his conniving, overprotective sister, Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain).

In the fringes is the man who pines for Edith, the intellectual and handsome young doctor, Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam). In the forefront are a bunch of very restless ghosts. Unwillingly able to communicate with the dead, Edith tries to find the key to the mystery behind the visions that haunt her in her shambles of her new home. As she comes closer to the truth, Edith may learn… dun-dun-da-dun!… that true monsters are made of flesh and bone.

I love the Gothic genre and am quite familiar with it, so nothing came as any surprise to me. Candles and cobwebs, creaky floorboards, and locked rooms one mustn’t enter… all of those tropes, and more, are gleefully and gloomily exploited. The story’s shopworn, but del Toro tells it with such gusto that he manages to breathe a different kind of life into a cinematic corpse. As I mentioned, Crimson Peak is an absolutely gorgeous movie. There are some definite “Hammer glamour” nods. The hairstyles, makeup, costumes, production design, cinematography, and everything – is stunning to see. Flourishes of del Toro’s winged-things fetish flit throughout the film as embodied by butterflies and moths. Splashes of red juxtapose against iron, steel, and silver in this appropriately steampunk universe (there are even automatons!).

It’s been 10 years since del Toro’s been allowed to wade in the rated-R deep end (as he did in Pan’s Labyrinth), and I must say, Crimson Peak has its moments of shocking and cringe-inducing violence – but they’re in furious bursts; thankfully, there’s no Saw or Hostel inspired torture porn here. The only nudity is provided by Hiddleston, which is fine for his fans, but I do think the erotic aspects of the Gothic genre should have been more fully embraced and explored. Then again, had that been the case, some other aspects might have to’ve been abandoned, because at a minute shy of two hours, the movie already feels too long.

The apparitions are meant to be scary, but the overuse of CGI on the faux phantoms yanked me right out of my immersion in the otherwise lovingly crafted bygone era every time I saw one. I so wish del Toro had opted for minimal enhancement, like he did in 2001 for his still-matchless ghost movie, The Devil’s Backbone. If he had, then I would have loved Crimson Peak rather than just liking it.

Still, I do wholeheartedly recommend everyone see Crimson Peak on the big screen. It’s the most beautiful, bloody way to celebrate Halloween this year.

Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hr. 59 min.

Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

CRIMSON PEAK Review — Gorgeous Shades