Crimson Peak

Gothic horror movie should, by its very nature, contain elements of romance, as well as Gothic novel should contain elements of horror. There is no doubt about that. But this ration must be well-balanced, whether in favor of horror movie with elements of romance or the other way around. Which is exactly where Toro fails. He took half-and-half approach and so it's neither a dog nor a cat, but a kind of hybrid covering two genres, which does not work very well in either department and the ending of "intense snowy Kill Bill final" is not appropriate in terms of genre rules. Audio-visuals are highlighted too much and it lacks a decent story line (it would hardly be enough for a short story), atmosphere, mystery, pace or just a hint of tension between the characters. If del Toro wanted to make the Gothic subgenre more interesting for today's youth, he did not pick his battle very wisely. If his intention was a traditional movie of this subgenre, then he failed terribly. If he tried to pay tribute to Hammer’s horror movies, he did exactly the opposite in a very disrespectful way. In any case, we must admit that the aforementioned audio-visual side of things is really impressive (except for the horrible CGI nonsense...I mean, ghosts and I do not think that in the gothic genre movie it needs to be so obvious) and along with the cast that does their best, is the only thing that makes it bearable. (10/15/2015)

Even after all these years, a rewatch of Crimson Peak didn't disappoint — it still holds its grip on me. It's an intriguing blend of supernatural horror and thriller with a psychopathic serial killer. The creators put effort into crafting a disturbing atmosphere without relying solely on cheap scares. Most importantly, the story was engaging and coherent. The only real downside for me was Mia Wasikowska. She's just not my type, leaving me to ponder why I found her appealing in this role. There must be some intangible quality about her, but I'll never quite know for sure. The casting for both the villains and heroes was spot on, their characters felt lifelike, and everything was written and filmed quite well. So, even on a second viewing, I remained satisfied and didn't feel the need to lower my original rating. / Lesson learned: If you believe in ghosts, maybe steer clear of England. (06/04/2022)

Guillermo del Toro can create an atmosphere and a beautiful scenery; you can’t deny that with any of his movies. But the flow of storytelling can sometimes be an issue and it doesn’t let his movies be perfect experiences.For the first 50 minutes, I thought I’d die of the worst possible movie boredom. It wasn’t until Mia found out that she was on Crimson Peak that it all started to get good. Especially since the atmosphere of the house itself began to show. I must admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen two completely different movie halves. While the first half of the movie is awfully boring, the second half is what makes the movie worth watching. (11/04/2016)

Visually stunning film, where some scenes completely captivated me and I couldn't even believe that such a thing could be filmed. And yet the film carries Guillermo's signature. In that aspect, it is beautiful, but story-wise, the movie didn't really grab me, the acting is fine, but not great. It's a shame, the visuals are amazing, but otherwise, it just isn't it. (12/28/2015)

That Guillermo did not stick with just production this time can only be understood as a wish to double his earnings. Crimson Peak’s run-of-the-mill, unoriginal subject matter is barely worthy of a 90-minute runtime. In addition, there is no tension and he tries to achieve the wow effect by using old-school tricks. The set designs, however, are really beautiful, the cast is superb and the occasional splattering of blood is satisfactory. The potential of the twisted romance that emerges from this offered more possibilities, but Guillermo would have had to resign himself to satisfying a broad audience and strike a more perverted chord. It’s a shame that the maker of such distinctive and captivating cinematic worlds stooped this low. (10/17/2015)