Crimson Peak

The love story, the conspiracy and the relatively fresh mix of horror has definitely made director Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak an engaging Gothic romantic thriller. Del Toro has visualized things in a really spooky atmosphere, but the narration somewhere down the line forgets to keep the secret safely and that predictability takes away the charm of this film considerably.

It is actually the story of an aspiring writer Edith Cushing, daughter of a very prominent American industrialist. Her acquaintance with an Aristocrat Thomas Sharpe ends up in a romantic relationship which culminated in marriage after Edith’s father got murdered. The film basically talks about Edith’s life in Sharpe’s home. The spooky house and its mysteries are what the content basically narrating to us.

The movie is equally engaging and less secretive. The egoistic feminine mind is an integral part of the screenplay and the very prominent visualization of such emotions forces us to predict the so called “twist” and what’s the fun if we predicted it correctly? That is the demerit of this story that should have invested a little more time on building an absorbing relationship between hero and heroine. But still there is this curiosity factor in the narration which keeps us guessing.

Mia Wasikowska in her “Alice in Wonderland” cuteness fits in to the mould of the character. Tom Hiddleston has that grace in attire and glow in eyes to be a perfect choice to play Thomas Sharpe. The most complicated role was given to Jessica Chastain and I felt that she could have been slightly better as her portrayal couldn’t conceal the mystery.

Guillermo del Toro has definitely created the horror atmosphere in a very intriguing way. The writer director also tries to give a different outlook to the ghost concept. Where the screenplay got flawed was in keeping the suspense tidy and also in building an eternal bond between the characters. Cinematography was nice and the production design is impressive as it recreated the retro days along with the help of visual effects.

On the whole, Crimson peak was a good mixture of horror and romance. A slightly better script would have made things more exciting. The rating for the film is 3/5.