Seeing all red…

by Marianna Brogna, staff reporter

Guillermo Del Toro has come up with another stomach-wrenching tale to cause goosebumps to rise on the skin. The premiere of his newest production, Crimson Peak, sweeped the theaters of the nation on October 16th.

This chilling tale takes place during the Industrial Revolution, yet gives off a Victorian style vibe. The protagonist, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) has seen ghosts all of her life. They’ve followed her everywhere, whether just to have contact with a human, or to send a warning. A particular apparition is the one of her mother, who heeded her a warning when she was a young child, “Beware Of Crimson Peak”.

Trying to shrug off the bone-chilling spirit’s visit, she continued living with her father in the Americas, until she met an entrepreneur, Thomas Sharpe. He’s journeyed trying to promote a material he’s discovered growing under his manor in London for years, a crimson red type of clay, to form bricks. While her father isn’t buying his performance, Edith does. She bought his performance that brought her to fall in love with him, and him with her, but her involvement with him in an attempt to escape her past, may be the reason why her mother’s spirits has sent her so many warnings…

This film was definitely an entertaining, and chilling watch. Especially, the contrast between the dull atmosphere, and the ghosts submerged in the crimson red of the clay seeping up from the white snow around the manor. Del Toro has always been one to input underlying details that if missed, could hinder your vital understanding of the plot, and that’s definitely in this production.

“I think Crimson Peak was a mediocre movie, but had beautiful scenery and costumes, which captured all of the attention,” Merrick High School junior Mckayla Steffens said.

A problem with the sequences in this film, was that it seemed to have taken too long to get to the climax of the movie. Although it was engaging and anticipating leading up to it, things started to go haywire in the last 30 minutes of the movie, which seems to be too long for a 2 hour movie.

“I think it was rather boring and dragged on the plot sequence that could have been introduced earlier. Also, the characters were bland and felt lifeless,” college freshman Robert Hayward said.

Also, when the climax stumbled along, it seemed to come in a rush. Everything blurred past in a frenzy, and it took a few moments to ponder what clearly went wrong, why it went wrong, and what mystery was solved. Del Toro seems to have an issue with a slow-paced plot, which was noticed in the TV series of his book, The Strain. The actual concept of the storyline wasn’t fully addressed until the end of the first season, into the beginning of the second season.  

What should definitely be addressed is Tom Hiddleston’s performance. It was very exquisite, and very convincing. He portrayed himself as the innocent entrepreneur who fell in love with the boss’ daughter, yet there was something off about him. However, in distracted moments, we notice a shadow of sorrow over his face, that would foreshadow for the final tie of the movie. However, his role in the movie takes a drastic turn, that changes the opinion of him entirely. He carried this out very well, with an underlying emotional attachment to Thomas Sharpe.

Overall, Crimson Peak was very well done, with the visuals, the plot, and the character development, and it was very engaging. But just remember in a production like this; pay attention to every detail, and don’t be fooled by the illusion of what can’t be seen. If distracted for too long, the important part can be missed.