"Crimson Peak"

Crimson Peak is a an old fashioned ghost story, but it's also an old-fashioned love story, done in the style of the grand and dreamlike gothic horror and gothic romance films of yesteryear. Much in the tradition of Guillermo Del Toro's films featuring the vestiges of people from the afterlife, the ghosts are actually not the main attraction, so to speak, in this film. The centerpiece of the story is the romance between wealthy heiress Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) and aristocrat Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), with the ghosts often existing more in the background, and the mystery behind Thomas and his sister Lucille's (Jessica Chastain) intentions is more of a direct concern to Edith than any ghost.

I liked the film for its gloomy gothic atmosphere, the set design (the mansion where most of the film takes place is very dilapidated, fitting for the mysterious tone and the mood of the film), and the performances, especially from Wasikowska, are excellent, even though the characters can be a little thinly sketched with not much substance. The constant back-and-forth between Edith and Lucille is a major highlight of the film, as it becomes increasingly clear that Lucille does not appreciate having Edith around at all and seems just a little too close with Thomas.

The particular style of filmmaking employed by Del Toro and the crew, such as using closing-circle fade-outs, give a general sense of being a throwback to horror films set in large and remote haunted houses. It all serves to make the film seem like it was recovered after being made in a bygone era, now modernized and filled with homages to old-school horror. Yes, it means the film embodies the camp of those older films, but I quickly embraced the subtle camp mixed in with actual horror, and found it to be very enjoyable.

Crimson Peak is a horror film with good performances, excellent mood and set design, and wonderful throwbacks to old-school horror. It's somewhat campy, but consistently entertaining. 8/10!