Critical popcorn

My revisit to Crimson Peak was vastly out of intrigue. I liked the original journey viewing but wanted to see if I remembered it the same way, as I believe we should reconsider films, like you would with any music album – you’d never listen to an album once, so why not revisit a movie of intrigue – and Guillermo del Toro’s work certainly falls within that world.

This new 2024 Arrow Films outing follows up previous releases with a 4K UHD release, approved by the director himself. Taking us inside a visually expansive Gothic romance, Crimson Peak begins in Buffalo, New York in the 1880s, where ambitious writer Edith Cushing (played initially as perfectly affable and innocently by Mia Wasikowska) is keen to impress, but also existing in an era when it’s difficult to be taken seriously as a female writer.  

After meeting the curious Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston in full charm mode), and him telling her he likes her writing, they marry after the violent death of her father and travel to Allerdale Hall: Sharpe’s rundown and secluded hill-top mansion, where leaves fall infinitely through the middle of the house, and ghosts haunt the hallways, which is nice. Oh, and it also just happens to be built on a surface of distressing blood-red clay, which oozes out of the ground, and through the house, but Edith doesn’t seem to mind.

Once there, Edith meets Jessica Chastain’s Lucille, Thomas’ sister who is found lingering around the fringes of their lives. Always watching, waiting and pulsating in jealously and a hidden desire to control whatever Thomas does – and the reasons of those related stories will unravel as the film progresses. What doesn’t help Edith is her curious nature to explore, like Belle being told not to go to the West Wing, and she’s also being haunted by the death of her mother, coupled with disturbing visions of crawling corpses which (in time) will lead her to uncover a dark family secret, and the truth behind the curtain of Crimson Peak itself.

So, after starting soft and romantic, it’s not long before the brutality of the world of Allerdale Hall seeps inside all our lead characters, and begins to flow in their veins, simultaneously controlling and probably inspiring them. In terms of vibe, I felt a little bit of The Shining, alongside echoes of Du Maurier, Poe and Conan Doyle. There’s mystery, discoveries, violent deaths (in a del Toro fashion) and within those beautifully epic and shocking moments, you realise there’s little metaphor here, it’s very literal as the house is sinking into its own tragic history.

Wasikowska fits this world well, and Hiddleston’s certainly well-placed amongst it all, driven by the pain of his childhood and his family secrets, he’s romantic, hopeful, and pained when required. For me, this return to Crimson Peak also reminded me of a slightly miscast Jessica Chastain, who doesn’t quite feel right for Lucille. I love her work, but I never truly felt the darkness of the role inhabited, often lacking a dark emotional intensity, which in turn disconnects you from the brutal power of the story.

Where Guillermo del Toro succeeds, as you’d always expect, is in his graphic storytelling. The huge sets are full of groans, shrieks, oozing unknowns, and haunting happens – that linger in the mind during every shot, and every setup. It’s initially Gothic romance, with Gothic horror elements, but I’m not sure they’re ever sure of what balance to bind, even when the visual nature is strikingly dark, it’s also foreseeable and is never truly beyond a quick shock trick.

The design work in Crimson Peak is also wonderful, and those elements alone certainly make it a character here, even if I’d have personally loved to explore it even closer and further, in all its terrifying mystery. It’s easy to consider the shadows of Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula in a sense of feeling, and Charlie Hunam’s Harker/Keanue Reeves-like ‘saviour’ only intensifies that connection.

For me, Crimson Peak is worth a revisit for all its Gothic glory, yet there’s a divide between the story it wants to tell, and the realisation of the narrative as a whole, where you never fully attach to the tale, even though you’re certainly intrigued by its disturbing secrets.

This Limited Edition 4K UHD release for Crimson Peak comes with a double-sided, fold-out poster, four double-sided postcards, and a limited edition 80-page, hard-bound book from Arrow Video – order here!

Extras

As ever, with a release like this, there’s a plethora of choice, although I’m not entirely sure how much included is new compared to the previous releases. Dipping into the featurettes, as well as the feature-length documentary, there’s an impressive array of cast and crew offering their insights on the process of putting the film together.

Also, Kim Newman’s short feature offers a welcome hit of perception as he talks through Del Toro’s filmmaking history, and the type of approach he takes, or doesn’t take, in certain genres. There’s exciting discussion about the design, costumes and those giantic sets, plus that knowing colour palette for both the characters and the house, taking us through the likes of greens, blues, reds, and yellows that adorn the actors, in reflection of who they are, on various verges of the Gothic style.  

And a full breakdown of what’s included:

• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), approved by director Guillermo Del Toro
• Original 7.1 DTS:X and 2.0 DTS Headphone: X audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Optional Descriptive Video Service® (DVS®) for the visually impaired
• Audio commentary by co-writer and director Guillermo del Toro
• The House is Alive: Constructing Crimson Peak, a feature-length documentary with cast and crew interviews and extensive behind the scenes footage
• Spanish language interview with Guillermo del Toro
• The Gothic Corridor, The Scullery, The Red Clay Mines, The Limbo Fog Set; four featurettes exploring different aspects of Allerdale Hall
• A Primer on Gothic Romance, the director and stars talk about the key traits of Gothic romance
• The Light and Dark of Crimson Peak, the cast and crew talk about the film’s use of colour
• Hand Tailored Gothic, a featurette on the film’s striking costumes
• A Living Thing, a look at the design, modelling and construction of the Allerdale Hall sets
• Beware of Crimson Peak, a walking tour around Allerdale Hall with Tom Hiddleston
• Crimson Phantoms, a featurette on the film’s amazing ghosts
• Kim Newman on Crimson Peak and the Tradition of Gothic Romance, an interview with the author and critic
• Violence and Beauty in Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic Fairy Tale Films, a video essay by the writer Kat Ellinger
• Deleted scenes
• Image gallery
• Original trailers and TV spots
• Double-sided, fold-out poster
• Four double-sided postcards
• Limited edition packaging designed by Crimson Peak concept artist Guy Davis
• Limited edition 80-page, hard-bound book featuring writing by David Jenkins and Simon Abrams, an archival interview with Guillermo del Toro, and original conceptual design illustrations by artists Guy Davis and Oscar Chichoni

This Limited Edition 4K UHD release for Crimson Peak comes with a double-sided, fold-out poster, four double-sided postcards, and a limited edition 80-page, hard-bound book

Crimson Peak Limited Edition 4K UHD is released on 20 May from Arrow Video