Crimson Peak

"It's not a ghost story, it's a story with ghosts..."

This line of dialogue is spoken early in Crimson Peak by its heroine, Edith (Mia Wasikowska), as she struggles to find a publisher interested in her novel.  They could also be the words spoken by co-writer and director, Guillermo del Toro, to describe his own film.  Despite the ad campaign heavily marketing this as a Victorian Haunted House story for Halloween, this is in truth a romantic mystery that owes more to the works of Jane Austin than things that go bump in the night.

Del Toro has brought his usual sense of style and atmosphere, and has easily created the single most beautiful film I think I will see this year.  From the design of the Gothic old mansion that serves as most of the story's setting, to the recreations of the streets of 19th Century Buffalo, New York, just about any frame in this movie has some kind of visual beauty to it.  What bothered me is what lies beneath the surface.  This is a surprisingly simple story, with underwritten characters, a narrative that never truly engages and a mystery that almost seems to spell itself out for us at times.  Outside of the images, I was never engaged.  This is no fault of the talented cast, who do what they can with what they've been given.  All of the problems can be traced back to the script by del Toro and Matthew Robbins, which is far too light on genuine thrills and suspense to be effective.

As the film opens, Edith is living in a lovely and large mansion with her protective widower father and businessman, Carter (Jim Beaver).  Edith tells us in narration right at the beginning that she believes in ghosts, as she was visited by the spirit of her mother shortly after she died when Edith was just 10.  This flashback of the encounter is suitably chilling, and gets us ready for a lot of thrills, which sadly the film fails to deliver.  As Edith is trying her hand at being a novelist, hoping to sell a Gothic story she is working on, she has a chance encounter with the handsome Thomas (Tom Hiddleston), who has come all the way from Britain hoping that her father will help fund an invention that he is trying to get off the ground.  Accompanying Thomas at all times is his emotionally distant sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain), who always seems to be harboring some sort of secret, even when she's just playing the piano at a festive gathering.

Edith and Thomas fall madly in love, but Carter will not accept their relationship due to something he learns about Thomas' past.  Carter forces Thomas to break things off with his daughter, but shortly after that happens, tragedy strikes and Edith finds herself again in Thomas' arms.  They are married, and Edith soon finds herself shipped off to Thomas and Lucille's crumbling and decaying mansion home back in England.  The mansion has a large hole in the roof of the center room, lots of dark and mysterious hallways, as well as a few ghosts who seem to be trying to get Edith's attention and warn her about something.  Oh, and there's also the soil in the ground, which is heavy in red mineral which makes the constantly falling snow turn blood red when it hits the ground.  With all the ghostly warnings and secrets being revealed, we have to wonder why it takes Edith so long to put two and two together and realize that maybe Thomas and Lucille don't exactly have her best interests in mind.

Crimson Peak wants to be a romantic mystery thriller, but the truth is, the answers are far too obvious for the movie to be any fun.  It kind of kills the tension when the movie throws so much suspicion on certain characters, and then it just keeps on piling on the suspicion as if it thinks we don't realize who is behind it all.  Despite the constant warnings Edith gets from beyond the grave, she still seems naively clueless.  Del Toro does a great job establishing a creepy atmosphere, but he seems to be at a loss when it's time to actually deliver on the scares.  The ghosts that haunt the halls of the mansion are plainly CG, and sometimes don't look quite right with the live action settings.  Moreover, once the answers behind the mystery start coming, they are simply not frightening or engaging.  The constant shadows and dark corners of the setting promise more than the movie's premise can deliver.

This is one of those movies that grabs our attention solely with the visuals.  If we focus on the story being told, our attention drifts.  Strip away the darkly beautiful sets, with the cavernous hallways and dark spooky basement rooms filled with hidden secrets, and there's very little here to hold our attention.  Even the ghosts themselves seem to be an afterthought, and actually seem unnecessary the more you think back on the story.  They act almost like a red herring, making you think that something supernatural is afoot, when in reality, the evil behind it all is all too ordinary and not that interesting.  Again, this is of no fault of the cast.  They know how to play up the Victorian Melodrama angle and are doing their jobs.  This is a well-made movie built on a weak foundation.  The visuals and performances promise something truly thrilling, but the script betrays that trust.

Much like The Walk from a couple weeks ago, I really want to be more enthusiastic about Crimson Peak.  There is so much to admire here, but I simply cannot recommend the story it tries to tell.  There's just not enough to support the grand work of the set and visual artists and the actors.  Guillermo del Toro has always been a filmmaker with a strong visual sense, but he usually rewards us with a strong story as well.  This time, he goes for style over substance.

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