Directed by Guillermo del Toro (The Devil’s Backbone, Pacific Rim), Crimson Peak is a horror film set in Victorian-era England. The film follows Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), a young woman who falls in love with an eccentric and mysterious stranger named Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). After a quick marriage, Sharpe wisks Emily away to his secluded estate in Northern England, where Sharpe’s disturbed sister, Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain), also resides. Overtime, Emily relaizes that her husband, sister-in-law and new home are not what they appear to be.
Take a look at the teaser below and decide if the first trailer for del Toro’s Crimson Peak is as frightening as it advertises to be.
To start with, the trailer is a bit underwhelming. It has all the trappings of a typical haunted house film set during the 19th Century. You have a decrepit mansion, a mysterious brother and sister, copious amounts of fog and a naïve young girl who is dumb enough to stay in the haunted house. The film’s first reveal of the ghosts and ghouls that reside in Hiddleston’s childhood home are eerily reminiscent of the CGI spirit that plagued Daniel Radcliffe in Hammer Films’ The Woman in Black. The apparent over-reliance on CGI creatures feels out of place and is more akin to del Toro’s work on Hellboy or Blade II.
On the more positive side of things, the film’s sets and costumes look superb and perfectly capture the feel of the time period. The cast is equally impressive, and showcases del Toro’s ability to attract talent to his projects. Wasikowska is coming off of award-winning films like Jane Eyre and The Kids Are All Right, while Hiddleston is revered for his theatre work and performance as Marvel’s Loki. Chastain’s Lucille is by far the most unnerving character featured in the trailer. Watching her brother and sister-in-law’s bedroom activities is probably just one of her many unusual hobbies. However, even with the strong cast, the first trailer for Crimson Peak doesn’t really engender any fear or excitement. Perhaps, once the film is closer to its release date, Universal will deliver a suitably terrifying second trailer.
Crimson Peak will hit theatres October 16, 2015.
