Crimson Peak

And here it is.

Guillermo del Toro follows robots and monsters with ghosts in Crimson Peak. It's equally spooky, violent and romantic - a rare combination these days. It's got a ghost of a chance at the Best Picture Oscar (ha!), but its technical achievements deserve some acknowledgement.

In the turn of the 20th century, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) lives with her businessman father, Carter (Jim Beaver). Edith wants to write ghost stories for a living. She has the experience, for gruesome ghosts haunt her nights. One of them is her mother (Doug Jones), who warns her "Beware of Crimson Peak" (whatever that means).

Edith meets the dashing English aristocrat Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and his sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain). Sir Thomas proposes marriage to Edith over Carter and Lucille's objections. But after Carter's face meets a bathroom sink, it's down the altar for Sir Thomas and Edith.

The Sharpes' home is Allerdale Hall, a decaying mansion that literally bleeds red clay. Allerdale has its own ghosts, who all try to scare Edith away. Once winter rolls along, the clay dyes the snow red, giving the mansion the name Crimson Peak (oh). That's when Edith and her father's physician, Dr. McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), discover that the Sharpes aren't so nice.

The visual achievements are the film's greatest strengths, by far. Costume designer Kate Hawley and production designer Thomas E. Sanders combine to create an extravagant period piece. The titular house is a wreck, and its "blood" is creepy, but it's a fascinating wreck. You won't forget the costumes once you've seen them. The motion capture ghosts work because they're that otherworldly. And Dan Laustsen's cinematography turns winter utterly pitch white. It's unlike most period films that come out this time of year, that's for sure.

Let's not forget the sound achievements. Sound designer Randy Thom is who to thank for such sounds as the creepiness in the ghosts' voices and the utterly sickening bone crunches. I'm not kidding on that last part. Meanwhile, composer Fernando Velázquez gives the film some spooky compositions and a romantic main theme. Of course, when it's time to get spooky, the sound sometimes goes away...

BOO!

That dummy...

BONK!

(MUFFLE)

...won't be bothering me any longer.

The actors aren't dwarfed by their sets or wardrobes. They all do great with their character types. Chastain, in particular, goes from simply antagonistic to downright frightening by the end. I only wish her motivations were a lot clearer.

As for the motivations? The film turns out to be a reworking of Bluebeard and Notorious, so it was kind of easy to see where it was going. At least Edith is more proactive than the leads of those stories. As for revelations, Carter Cushing's killer would have been a surprise if del Toro shot them completely from the head down. Their hairstyle gave it away!

Crimson Peak isn't for those who tense up easily. But you might like it if you enjoy artful, romantic and tragic stories. The film has all that and it has ghosts and blood too. Its unique artistic world and its off-kilter villains make it another memorable film in Guillermo del Toro's filmography.