'Crimson Peak' Proves a Delightful House of Horrors

The creak of a wooden stair. The bump in the night. The chill on the back of your neck. As cliche as it sounds, these are the tiny but powerfully unsettling things that master director Guillermo del Toro seeks to turn into your worst nightmare. The most terrifying parts of Crimson Peak are in its eerie silence and candlelit amblings down decrepit hallways, when you never know quite what is lurking around the corner.

Although the fantastic Crimson Peak is being marketed as a straightforward horror film (and it certainly has its scares), Del Toro himself correctly pointed out that this is far more of a love letter to Victorian romance stories and Gothic horror than it is a ghost story.

Mia Wasikowska stars as Edith, an impressionable young American swept off her feet by the dashing Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) after the mysterious death of her entrepreneur father. Whisking her away to his family's estate across the pond where he lives with his colder-than-ice sister Lucille, the ghostly warnings Edith has been receiving all her life begin to come to fruition as she learns to truly "Beware of Crimson Peak."

There are truly very few horror filmmakers out there who can still craft a truly incredible sense of atmosphere, and Guillermo del Toro is one of the absolute greats. His unique style of production design is perfectly suited for a Victorian fairy tale and the incredible set of Allerdale Hall just allows Del Toro's imagination to run wild. Applying his signature creature design to these horrific specters, their bones crack and creak as they loom through the dark hallways and it's simply awe-inspiring.

As A-list a cast as Del Toro recruits here, their commitment to an old-school kind of campiness in their delivery is admirable. Some of what the script gives them could be considered groaners but Hiddleston, Chastain and Wasikowka's delivery is excellent as they are fully committed to the kind of story Del Toro wanted to tell. Particularly excellent is Jessica Chastain as the menacing sister Lucille, perfecting the chill in that deep-seated evil that boils under the surface, and absolutely reveling in the madness that's revealed as the plot unfolds.

In any other director's hands a lot of Crimson Peak probably would've fallen flat, but Del Toro's strength is that he plays all of it completely straight. He fully believes in the power of atmosphere and his attention to detail in his craft helps to fully immerse the audience in some truly fantastic tales. His penchant for gore is certainly still on display, and the fact that Del Toro carefully chooses when to unleash the brutality only makes these moments more powerful, especially in the requisite bloodbath finale

It's an old school kind of horror told with unapologetic camp, and aside from some faulty pacing in the end, it is without a doubt one of the best theatrical experiences of the year, one of Del Toro's finest films, and a highly recommended Halloween treat.

M. Night Shyamalan Returns to Form in Horror-Comedy 'The Visit'

Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and director M. Night Shyamalan became an overnight phenomenon following the debut of his third feature, The Sixth Sense. To this day, any and all advertisements for his movies will feature the words, “From the writer and director of The Sixth Sense.” Following up on it proved simple for Shyamalan, releasing two more films that received similar acclaim, Unbreakable in 2000 and Signs in 2002, yet in the 13 years that have passed, he has (arguably) not made nor been involved in a single film reaching anywhere near the success of those three. (The Village has its defenders, but I am not one of them).

That is, at least, until now.

Shyamalan’s latest work, The Visit, is a found-footage horror-comedy about two young children who go to meet their estranged grandparents on a weeklong trip. The film starts off in an interview with the Mom (Kathryn Hahn), who has not spoken to her parents in 15 year following a massive falling out due to her relationship with an older man. 10 years later, the man leaves her with their two children, Rebecca (Olivia De Jonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould). Mom has a new boyfriend, and he decides to take her on a cruise, so, after a seemingly spontaneous invitation, the kids decide to make the trip to Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop-pop’s (Peter McRobbie).

But there’s something a little off about grandma and grandpa. No one is allowed in the basement, nor out of their rooms after 9:30 PM. When the kids decide the break curfew, they find that grandma sleepwalks at night and vomits everywhere. She makes strange noises and claws at the walls. When the kids come clean to grandpa, he writes it off as her just being an old lady. 

Unfortunately, grandpa’s not a shining example of normalcy either. One day, taking the kids into town, he gets paranoid and attacks a stranger. The kids call their mother and explain what’s going on. Mom says they’re just old.

Figures.

There’s one scene that stands out among the rest in this movie in terms of both horror and humor and effortlessly blending them. The kids are playing hide and seek in the crawl space beneath the house. We switch between their POVs throughout, and as one is being terrorized, we may cut back to the other, who has no idea what is going on. It’s a great scene that really showcases the directorial skill of Shyamalan. 

The Visit's script is an absolute return to form for Shyamalan, delivering what is easily his best work since The Sixth Sense, complete with fittingly outstanding performances. Oxenbould is especially notable, for giving a believable and hilarious performance, while De Jonge pulls us in as a young aspiring filmmaker who wants to stay ethical and true to her creative vision. Dunagan, however, is the true star of the movie, putting in a captivating, haunting, and profoundly entertaining performance, with McRobbie's character being off-putting throughout, coming up with half-baked explanations for the strange goings-on at the house.

Pay no attention to the trailers for this one. Remember in 2012 when Drew Godard’s horror-comedy masterpiece The Cabin In The Woods was about to be released? Or Adam Wingard’s 2013 You're Next? The trailers we got made it seem as if they were straight-up slasher flicks. Going into the theaters to actually see them proved disappointing for many, as what they ended up getting were dark comedies. This is a very similar situation to the campaign for The Visit. The trailer tries to sell the movie as something that will terrify you, but the truth is you will be laughing a lot more than jumping.

This movie is scary when it’s supposed to be, and it’s funny when it’s supposed to be. The Visit is M. Night Shyamalan’s first step toward a massive comeback. Here’s hoping he can keep it up.