Although I’m a huge fan of both Hellboy movies, Blade 2 and Pacific Rim for me Guillermo Del Toro is at his best when tackling the genre of the Gothic Horror or Dark Fantasy – in 2001 came his deliciously gripping The Devil’s Backbone and in 2006 the weird and wonderful Pan’s Labyrinth both shot on a relatively low budget and both demonstrating this filmmaker’s eye for detail & his brilliant knack of telling a good story that entwines interesting, peculiar and watchable characters into his narrative – so when the first stills and trailer hit the web for his latest my excitement was at fever pitch – would Del Toro’s Crimson Peak live up to the expectations I had placed upon it? and how would the cast changes effect his way of thinking and the movie in general?
Del Toro’s movie takes us back to the late 1800’s, where personal tragedy sends a young aspiring author into the arms of a mysterious stranger, his loving sister and a new home in England
Crimson Peak is a beautifully crafted horror movie, reminiscent of the classic movies back in the 30’s and 40’s – it’s imaginative sets especially the Gothic mansion really does send shivers down the spine, Del Toro manages to create this living, breathing structure that’s partly open to the elements, devilishly spooky & so atmospheric – the attention to details is impressive and the film submerges you into it’s story almost to the point you actually feel like your living in Allerdale Hall – part of the movies story is Edith’s ability to see ghosts and theses scenes are handled sublimely well, in particular the moment at the beginning of the movie when Edith is visited by her mum and the scene in the corridor of Allerdale both gave me goosebumps, the effect is spine tingling – the movie also contains a pretty graphic and violent death scene that may shock some viewers, and although you can see it coming its delivered with devastating effect – the films backbone though is it’s cast, especially the trio of Wasikowska, Hiddleston & Chastain who’s chemistry unite, making you believe in the scenario’s their characters find themselves in – I wish somebody could have taken a picture of me in the cinema watching the films taut but electrifying finale – the range of emotion from Wasikowska & Chastain’s characters are terrifyingly good – Overall Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak is one hell of movie, it may not be Del Toro’s masterpiece but it’s a fabulous, haunting trip nevertheless and deserves to be hailed as one of the best in it’s genre ★★★★
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