Crimson Peak 2015 6 out of 10

Crimson Peak 2015  6 out of 10

My interest in watching Crimson Peak was because Guillermo del Toro has for years been wanting to do a new Haunted Mansion movie for Disney.  He has confirmed as recently as April of 2016 that he is still writing a Haunted Mansion movie.   

You can read about that below at Inside the Magic.

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/04/guillermo-del-toro-confirms-he-is-still-writing-his-haunted-mansion-movie/

In the meantime he has been busy making non-Disney horror movies giving us a glimpse of what might be seeing if he ever makes that Disney film. 
I the past couple of years he wrote Don't be Afraid of the Dark and wrote and directed Crimson Peak.   

Crimson Peak is a throwback to Horror movies from the past by Hammer Studios or old Vincent Price films, instead of the gross out slasher type flicks that have been popular in recent decades it is a Gothic love/ghost story. 

The Look of the Film     A+
The art direction in Crimson Peak is incredible.  Guillermo del Toro has mastered the look of a big screen haunted house.  Part of the story includes the mining of red clay and this plot point gives the director an amazing color palate to play with.  The red clay in the snow looks like blood and adds to the ominous tone of the film. Visually the film is stunning.  In this way Guillermo's films are much like those of Tim Burton.   Even if you don't like a Tim Burton movie they  tend to look amazing.  The same is true for Guillermo del Toro's films.  He has a unique look and style to his films and Crimson Peak is no different. 

The Cast    B

Crimson Peak has a great cast including Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), Tom Hiddleston (Loki from the Avengers), and Jessica Chastain (Mad Men).  I think they all did a decent job with the material they were given

The Story    D
The problem I have with Crimson Peak is the story. 
As I mentioned  before it was a throwback to older films -- but so much so that it was extremely predictable.  It didn't feel original. 
It was the old marry some rich person for their money and then have them killed off storyline that I have seen way too many times before.   I was hoping for and expecting some twist -- but that twist never really happened.   The movies setting was so perfect for a Haunted House story --but the ghosts were merely just there to warn the main character played by Mia Wasikowska about the dangers of the place and the ghosts themselves were strange bloody skeletons.   If Guillermo del Toro does ever make a Haunted Mansion film for Disney ----I'm convinced that it will look absolutely amazing......but I worry about his script writing skills.

Here are my thoughts on his story Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

 http://bradgeekness.blogspot.com/2014/11/dont-be-afraid-of-dark-2010-4-out-of-10.html

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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark 2010 4 out of 10 or (Demented Sewer Rats on Meth)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark  2010   4 out 10

I recently recorded Don't Be Afraid of the Dark during the annual crush of Halloween movies on TV and decided to move it to the top of my list of nearly full DVR recorded movies and my overwhelming (never going to get to some of them)  Netflix queue.  I watched it based on the Guillermo Del Toro's track record, since both Hellboy movies were good and Pacific Rim was great.  

It is haunted house movie after all and at one point he was scheduled to do a reboot of The Haunted Mansion for Disney, so I was curious to see what he made.   Well it turns out I wasn't afraid of the dark after all,  it was really an underwhelming film.

The Story:  The Story follows a Dad and his girlfriend living in a mansion that clearly looks haunted with his young daughter that until then had been living with her mom. (a storyline that isn't really explained well.)    The dad is restoring the mansion in order to resell it for his client and within the first days of his daughter's arrival the family discovers a secret basement.   The basement was sealed for a reason  dummies and the reason is where the movie falls apart for me.   The movie has potential with the creepiness of what lurks in the basement --but once you see the evil little creatures the tension falls apart for me.   The daughter, who is already having a rough time adjusting to the change in her living conditions is tormented by the little creatures and at first no one believes her.  They just write off her concerns as her needing therapy to deal with family issues ,  until a groundskeeper is attacked by something in that creepy basement.   Most people would leave at this point (Like the famous Eddie Murphy bit about white people in a haunted house --(the irony)).   The groundkeeper's death isn't enough to get hem to believe her or leave, but it is enough to get the girlfriend (played by Katie Holmes) to do some research on the house.   She finds out the truth about the house and they still stay????   Throw in the Jaws Scenario scene about having to stay because they have important dinner????          All in all it just didn't work and wasn't scary at all.

The Creatures:  The creatures themselves are the worst part of the movie.  We would have been better off never seeing them and just hearing their creepy whispers.  They look like a bunch of demented sewer rats on meth.  They were basically meant to be a creepy play on Tooth Fairies and it just didn't work and all for me.  Maybe they should have just called an exterminator for these rat fairies.

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