Movie Night With Lauren #5: From Interstellar to Crimson Peak thanks to Jessica Chastain. Check out the explanation for Movie Night here.
Basic Synopsis: Edith Cushing has been consumed with the idea of ghosts all her life, but it’s one thing to write about them in her stories, and another to become a victim within a ghost story.
Brief Thoughts: It probably has a lot to do with how I had just seen the trailer for the newest Purge movie right before starting Crimson Peak, but Guillermo del Toro’s newest directing job felt like a pretty refreshing turn from most of what I’ve been watching from the horror genre lately. Though there were a few jump scares that got me, I appreciated the film’s lack of reliance on shocking the audience with brutality and gore.
If anything, Crimson Peak reminds me of stories like Phantom of the Opera and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I remember the first time I saw the old, animated version of the latter as a child: this was the first time that I remember experiencing the element of horror in entertainment, and the blend of suspense and mystery was just plain fun. Crimson Peak is a lot like this, with its animated ghosts, the color schemes in the lighting and the beautifully designed sets (that had the theatre design major in me freaking out), and the story itself.
Let’s Talk About That Ending (Spoilers): Oh incest… I don’t actually have anything more to say about that part, I just want the incest to know that I see it, and I am not a fan of it. Bad incest. Bad, bad incest.
This ending is kind of one of those, “well, it’s an ending.” It’s nothing new, nor is it surprising, but it works for the story so I’m not really disappointed in it in any way. Added bonus: it did allow for an opportunity for Jessica Chastain to stab Tom Hiddleston in the cheek [shudder]. Chastain pulls off “beware the underlying psycho” very well!
Parenting Fail: Things would’ve gone much better for Edith had the ghost of her mother been a little more specific with her warning: “beware Crimson Peak.” How about using the actual name of a location instead of a local nickname? Or, oh I don’t know, “don’t marry Thomas Sharpe.” Way to go, mom.
Is There A Dog In This Horror Film?: Yes. Why is there always a dog…
The Nominee For Best Supporting Performance Is: The ghost in the closet that peeks through the crack in the door, scream/moans (scroans?), and then slams it shut. I rewound this beat 5 or 6 times and regret not continuing to do so for another minute or two.
Final Thoughts: Finally! Another Guillermo del Toro movie I like! As much as I love his creatures and the look of most of his movies, Pan’s Labyrinth has been the only film of his directing collection that I having any desire to see again, let alone actually enjoy. God I love Pan’s Labyrinth…
Additional Reading: Click here to read Zac’s review from back when the movie was originally released.
Path So Far: Hick → Black Death → The Martian → Interstellar → Crimson Peak
Next Rental Up: Guillermo del Toro has a couple movies he’s directed that I haven’t seen, like The Devil’s Backbone and Cronos, but going into foreign films is a little tricky within the confines of the rental chain. Looks like I will have to exclude him for now… Mia Wasikowska leads to Madame Bovary or The Double or Tracks or Stoker, Tom Hiddleston leads to War Horse or Midnight in Paris, Charlie Hunnam leads to Deadfall.
Middle of the Row 