As gothic melodramas go, Crimson Peak is fine,
but what mars the movie is its ghost story element
mars the movie is its ghost story
element, an unnecessary subplot
that adds nothing and feels a bit
too close to M Night Shyamalan
at his most mediocre. Del Toro
has chosen to structure his plot
in a way that gives us enough
details to create a veneer of suspense, but he oddly holds back
on the sort of minor details that
are too obvious to make his final
plot twists land with any degree
of impact.
There are enough creaky doors
and candle-lit hallways to keep
devotees of this genre mildly
sated, but Crimson Peak is ultimately a gothic melodrama
that’s heavy on gothic but all too
low on drama.
Crimson Peak
3 stars out of 5
Directed by:
Guillermo del Toro
Starring:
Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom
Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Doug Jones
NewJerseyStage.com
2015 - ISSUE 10
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