'Crimson Peak' had a lot going for it, with a talented director and, while this reviewer is not a huge fan of Mia Wasikowska, two talented actors in Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain, plus the story had great potential.
Unfortunately, this great potential is not entirely lived up to. 'Crimson Peak' is not an awful film, it's just that it is frustratingly uneven considering the talent in front of and behind the camera and how with the right execution the story and the combination of supernatural horror and Gothic melodrama/romance (the latter of which the film essentially is, despite being advertised misleadingly) could have been really intriguing.
The best thing about 'Crimson Peak' are the production values, which are just gorgeous (a vast majority of them anyhow). Not only are the costumes and sets lavishly colourful, sumptuously elegant and splendidly Gothic but they have a real atmosphere and depth to them. It's atmospherically and evocatively lit too, and beautifully shot. The music score is resolutely haunting, giving the right amount of chills and nuance. Guillermo Del Toro's mastery of visual style does come through, as does for the first third at least his knack of combining more than one mood all at once. The first third is entertaining and rich in atmosphere.
'Crimson Peak' benefits too from the performances of Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain. While he may seem a little subdued in places, Hiddleston is superbly brooding and very believably flips from charming to chilling in a short space of time when needed, his very eloquent way of speaking makes one want to listen to him for hours. Chastain comes close to stealing the film, playing with verve, mysterious allure and quite scary intensity. Their chemistry is magnetic.
However, Mia Wasikowska doesn't fare so well. In all fairness she does have a very passive and indecisively written character, but while Wasikowska has come on a lot since 'Alice in Wonderland' (for example she is good in 'Jane Eyre') her performance here is devoid of emotion. Her chemistry with Hiddleston is rather dull and cold too. Charlie Hunnam, while not as annoying as in 'Pacific Rim', is similarly very bland. The ghost characters, as well as looking very fake (the one sore spot visually was the crude-looking effects), were not needed (likewise with the supernatural horror elements, which were executed to very predictable and lazy effect generally here, the film would have been far better just as a Gothic romance), don't inject much personality let alone thrills or scares and they felt like they were shoe-horned into the story.
Where 'Crimson Peak' particularly disappoints is in the script and story. The script is quite threadbare and often sounds very awkward. The story started off with so much promise, had some good moments in the middle act atmospherically despite starting to meander pace-wise (parts quite badly drag in fact) and tire narratively before falling apart completely in the last act, which was implausible, lost momentum and became silly and anti-climactic. A good case of Del Toro taking on more than he could chew.
In conclusion, looks gorgeous but is frustratingly uneven. Starts strongly before finishing with a thud. 5/10 Bethany Cox
