It’s been almost a decade since Guillermo del Toro made a fantasy/ horror picture; Pan’s Labyrinth put his name on the map as a big time filmmaker. After two big budgeted sci-fi action films, he’s back with a smaller fantasy/horror thriller that made him famous.
Set in turn-of-the-century New York, a young ambitous woman named Edith (Mia Wasikowska) is trying to become a serious writer in the field dominated my men. She’s written novels about love and ghosts, you see Edith believes in ghosts because she saw her dead mother visited her when she’s very young. Ever since then, she can see ghosts everywhere. 
Her written work would get turned down by publishers and some even mocked her writing. One day she met an Englishman named Thomas (Tom Hiddleston) who’s in town to try and raise money for his clay mining business from Edith’s father Carter (Jim Beaver) and other business men. Thomas has a sister named Lucille (Jessica Chastain) who doesn’t seem to care much for everyone in town, especially Edith. After Edith’s father rejected his business pitch, Thomas decided to romance Edith in order to get money from the family.
Local doctor Alan (Charlie Hunnam) also tried to woo Edith but she’s clearly smitten by the new Englishman in town. After a tragic incident, Edith married Thomas and they moved back to England to stay at his old mansion. Here’s when things got worse for Edith as she’s being haunted by spirits in the mansion.
For the first half of this movie, it felt like a period romance drama so for those looking for a spooky ghost story, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Del Toro took his time with the story and didn’t show the horror stuff until later in the movie.
Being that Del Toro is technical expert, this was one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen in a long time. Kudos also go to the set and costume designers, they did such an amazing job that I felt I was in that period of time while watching the movie. Performance wise, all the actors did a fine job, no complain for me here.
Unfortunately the script by Matthew Robbins and Del Toro was quite generic and predictable. This was the kind of story that’s been told too many times in other horror/thriller. There were no surprises or twists that you won’t see coming. Another thing I thought didn’t work were the CGI ghosts, they looked fake and not scary at all. Speaking of scary, this was supposed to be a spooky horror movie and I was not once felt scared or spooked while watching this movie.
Despite the great cinematography, performances and set design, this movie couldn’t overcome its lack of scares and originality.
So have you seen Crimson Peak? Well, what did you think?
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Ted, nice review. Too bad it’s not scary enough for it sounds like it has a lot of great things going for it like the cast and set design. I really loved del Toro’s work in Pans Labyrinth. This was one I was hoping came close.
Thanks Cindy. I was very disappointed with it too, the film looked great but the script was too generic. It’s nothing like Pans Labyrinth for sure!
Interesting. I was definitely intrigued by the set design and the presence of Tom Hiddleston. I was concerned about how the horror would play out — scary or bloody. I like scary and not so much bloody. Too bad Crimson Peak looks like it does not deliver.
It got kind of bloody towards the end, Del Toro didn’t pull back the “horror” part but it took forever to get there and again it was not scary at all.
I keep hearing the same thing about this movie…that it’s not scary. That’s so unfortunate b/c the previews look terrifying. I haven’t seen it yet, but I wish they would have been more inventive with the storyline. It sounds like the storyline was very old fashioned, which doesn’t work without a modern twist.
Yeah, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before when it comes to the plot. I was hoping Del Toro would come up with something more original but unfortunately it’s pretty generic story.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my review of this one Ruth. I took something different away from it, I’m curious as to what you think. I do agree with you though that the script was somewhat lacking, it was kinda predictable and the creatures didn’t look in the least bit scary
Hey Jordan, I’ll check out your review this weekend. I haven’t seen it yet, this is Ted’s review 🙂
Ahhh I see. I’d be interested in what Ted has to say about how I saw the film too! I think I liked it a bit more than most people
I haven’t read your review yet Jordan. I thought it was going to be similar to Del Toro’s early horror films like The Devil’s Backbone, Cronos and Pans Labyrinth but it’s way too predictable to me.
Oh really? I guess I don’t predict stuff unless its really obvious. I’ve never seen a film like this one
Great review Ted. Pan’s Labyrinth was awesome and the trailers for this movie had me pretty curious about his return to fantasy horror. Too bad to hear it lacks scares.
Yeah I thought Del Toro was going to make a more scarier film like his earlier work. The Devil’s Backbone and Cronos were very creepy. This one not so much.
Surprising to hear that the story and special effects don’t work in a del Toro film, Ted. Those things are mostly spot on with him. That said, in still intrigued with this one.
Hey Mark, yeah I was surprised too. I think had Del Toro went with more practical effects, the ghosts would’ve been more scarier.
I think Del Toro is done as a director. It’s flop after flop with him.
I don’t think he’s done as a director but when he’s working with big studios, I’m sure he has to compromised many of his creativity. Which is why I think his earlier films were his best.
I don’t know what it says about me but this is the first film of Guillermo’s that I really liked, almost loved (I haven’t seen Pan’s Labryinth yet though). The big mistake with the movie (to me) was the marketing. Some interviewers with the cast are trying to clear up that the genre is gothic-romance, not gothic-horror, and fans who loved the movie are trying to make that distinction too. It’s not supposed to be a gory, horror scare-fest like it was advertised. Like any movie, if anyone goes in expecting one thing and gets something else, they’re bound to be disappointed. I was sort of spared that confusion and really loved it!
Yeah I think I agree with you about the marketing, I was expecting more of a spooky horror movie and not a gothic romance. Wow if you loved this one, you should definitely see Pan’s Labyrinth and his earlier work such as The Devil’s Backbone and Cronos.
I’ve been looking forward to this movie. I’ve been a Wasikowka fan since the beginning and Del Toro is always interesting. Too bad the script seems generic. Leave it to me to find it spooky though, I’m sure I’ll be checking for ghosts in my closet before I go to sleep.
Well here’s the thing, I don’t get scare easily because I’ve seen so many horror movies throughout the years. You might enjoy it more than I did.
Not sure about this one Ted. The whole look of the film seems a bit cliche, but I might give it a try. I’ll definitely let you know how I get on if I do decide to see it.
Yeah the story was very generic and too cliche, it’s been done too many times in this kind of genre. Who knows, you might like it more than I did. 🙂
I don’t have any interest in seeing this, which is surprising because I adore period dramas, but I’m just not a fan of the horror genre, and this one looked especially silly. However, a really good period drama/horror film was Stonehearst Asylum.
You know this wasn’t really a true horror film, it’s more of gothic romance/horror. It looked beautiful and the set designs were top notch.
The film looks fantastic but it sounds like a case of style over substance. What a shame as the talent is clearly there.
Oh yeah, visually it’s stunning but I thought the story has been told too many times before and there’s nothing new or surprising by the time the film ends.
That’s too bad. This isn’t the first negative review I’ve read, but I’m still a del Toro apologist so want to see it. Nicely written Ted.
Thanks! I didn’t really have any expectations for this one considering I wasn’t a fan of the last two Del Toro’s films; I was hoping the film would be closer to his earlier work though. Unfortunately it’s just a great looking film with not much substance.
Great review! Seems this film is more lacklustre than anything else.
I liked the film overall, but I agree it was generic. Still, I found it mostly well-executed and refreshingly old-fashioned.