Movie Chat: Crimson Peak

Ok, first of all, DISCLAIMER: Of course this is going to be super biased, this is MY opinion of the movie.

I can't believe this movie is only 6.5 in IMDB. This movie is so beautifully shot and within the first few minutes I just knew that Guillermo del Toro is behind it (yeah I didn't read about it beforehand). The distinctive camera and lighting works are there. Not to mention the eerie ghosts on the edge of the uncanny valley.

Fair enough, I'm only giving it 8 out of 10. I rarely give any movie 10, because 10 is perfection and perfection is rare. I had to further minus one point because the storyline is a tad predictable. BUT it doesn't diminish how beautiful the movie is. And I'm not only talking about the cinematography. The costume, the script, the morality questions, the philosophical message... are all thought through and blended beautifully.

And the details of it, ho my, the more I think about them, the more fascinated I am. Pay attention to the background, little details of the sounds, the words chosen --the word 'beautiful' keeps popping in my mind to describe this movie.

I didn't want to watch it earlier because I'm not really a fan of Mia Wasikowska. She only has that one expression and always play that misunderstood innocence. She's also part of the -1 that I can't give the movie a 9. But Tom Hiddlesont is there, who can deny his acting skills? And I only lately realised that Jessica Chastain is a gem too. So I finally watched it (a long Easter weekend helped too). And ho boy, did they deliver. The acting, their acting is soooo underrated. Tom Hiddleston can look at a tree, tell it that he loves it, and that tree will fall in love with him.

And Jessica Chastain.. the whole time I keep thinking she's Eva Green. She carries that looming darkness so subtly yet so intensely. I get chills just remember her character. Her character is one of those that you knew something is wrong with her, your guts keep telling you to run away from her, but you can't pinpoint why. We all have such people in our real lives. But to convey this in a fictional character is another story, and to do it so convincingly is just absolutely amazing.

There are many bad reviews that saying it's not really a horror movie, and therefore the movie is bad. Well, horror is not the point of the movie. The movie broke the fourth wall when it talks about a story that is "not a ghost story but a story with ghosts in it, in which the ghost are a symbol for the past, and that even though it's not the main theme, love also plays a role." It's hard to explain without spoiling the movie. All I can say is, it's so seldom a movie delivers a perfect balance of horror and romance, thriller, and love. Go watch it and see it for yourself. If you appreciate subtlety and beauty, you will love this movie.

As partly seen in Cyrlia's Crimson Peak