Crimson Peak [DVD] [2015]

Visually Stunning Ghostly TaleThe usual Arrow top quality release full of extras and a top notch blu ray transfer, reversible cover included

Tom Hiddleston is fantastic,

Having missed it in the cinema, I had been keen to see this film as the little I'd heard about it provoked my interest but especially as I have liked, to varying degrees, some of Guillermo del Toro's previous efforts eg 'Hellboy' in all respects, 'The Devil's Backbone' in a general way and 'Pan's Labyrinth' for the visuals.Now having watched the film on Blu-ray, aside from saying how well it comes across in HD, I can also state that it certainly 'entertained' me (it is essentially a Gothic romance with strong aspects of violence/horror) but I found it lacking a little depth/originality to the plot and none of the performances particularly 'grabbed' me.; I also felt that what efforts there were to 'shock' me, didn't...So, unfortunately, for me this is more of a 'Pan's Labyrinth' than a 'Hellboy' ie good/visually stunning but not notable and reflects how del Toro can 'stray' away from his best, like he did with 'Hellboy 2'.*** I need to confirm that this is indeed a Guillermo del Toro film, as many negative reviews I've subsequently read imply that he only 'put his name' to this film (like as a producer eg 'The Orphanage') - he directed this movie, rather than just having some kind of background role.....[Also, let me get out of the way right now that anyone who was titillated by the bare 'posterior' of a certain actor in the recent, similarly 'frothy', BBC adaptation of 'The Night Manager' is in for a treat here with an 'exposure' pre-dating that most recent outing by over a year.....]If you need to learn a bit about that plot, the Amazon synopsis does a good job without any spoilers;The cinematography of 'Crimson Peak' is sumptuous and the production-values excellent; this movie majors on it's costumes and visuals rather than pure drama.I had no problem appreciating the plot and how it developed (such that it is) BUT did feel that it wasn't that adventurous/original and what I thought were approaching 'twists' never materialised and the attempts at horror 'shock' moments were either signposted, or their imminent occurrence very predictable. I can still remember one occasion where the camera returned to focus on one object, as a rather clumsy hint that it would feature again a little later on - a bit cheesy for me and more fitting for a 'PG' or '12' film classification, rather than this as a '15'.....Unfortunately, about 2/3 into the running time, the familiarity of those superb cinematography/production-value ingredients were not enough to keep me engrossed, due to the general lack of innovation as that thin plot developed - I almost became bored and certainly checked how much time was left at least twice !The final blemish was that whilst the acting performances were not bad, not one was in any way impressive or obviously inspired (eg like Ron Perlman in 'Hellboy') - it was as though the cast were uniformly 'knackered' or similarly bored as I occasionally got; even the presence of the gorgeous Jessica Chastain couldn't get me excited like it/she normally does.....!On Blu-ray, everything looks and sounds as wonderful as it should - the only thing I did feel was that the visuals are so strong that it was quite obvious when a background or building facade was not 'real', which did distract me a few times....This disc presented yet another new Dolby soundtrack 'flavour' to me, in the guise of "English DTS:X 7.1.4 (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 core)"; it didn't some across as anything greatly different from what I've got used to with 'normal' DTS-HD Master Audio, whereas recent introductions to (also new) Dolby 'Atmos' DID (for the marvellous 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and awesome 'Sicario').....The Blu-ray extras are decent plus we get a UV copy'; I've attached a photo of the back of the disc box card outer to show all the disc info, as it's not already on the main Amazon page.So, despite having all the genuine credentials of a Guillermo del Toro production, 'Crimson Peak' was something of a let-down, leaning towards being the kind of film one expects from, for example, Tim Burton with an attendant and typically soporific Johnny Depp eg del Toro 'Lite'. I will happily watch it again, but I can't see there being any revelations that I may have missed from my first viewing - it's a bit like eating a cake which looks delicious, but ultimately has a disappointing taste....

The sets are absolutely beautiful, like very well drawn fantasy comic books both real and unreal at the same time. I'm not an historian of costume so whether or not there was much by way of historical accuracy I couldn't say but the players' dress had pretty visual impact. Copiously muddy streets in places proved not to inconvenience the wearer.I found the characters lacked depth. This is all just my impression of the film and actors.Jessica Chastain looked rather fetching with raven black hair and gave a strong screen presence to her character Lucille Sharpe, the sister of Baronet Sir Thomas Sharpe.Thomas Hiddleston played Baronet Sir Thomas Sharpe and despite being English, Eton and Cambridge educated, managed to sound like a caricature of a well bred Victorian Englishman . There was a lack of wickedness and cruelty to his portrayal that seemed out of place.James Beaver as Carter Cushing, a wealthy American businessman, gave strong screen presence to his character Jim Beaver and it is regrettable that his time on screen was somewhat short.Maria Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, the daughter and sole heir of Carter Cushing, had a slow delivery of lines that to me came across as a posh telephone voice. The character seemed rather self absorbed and self centred with a rather high opinion of herself considering that her hard working father had given her everything and was the only reason she could indulge herself with her fantasy of being a published author. Lacking gratitude she was casually cruel to him and this I did not appreciate. She was weak having her head turned by the first handsome silver tongued rogue that came along casting aside the nice guy (a cliche of nice guys always come second and the ladies always love the bad guy) who is her Knight in Shinning Armour saviour in the end at great cost to himself. Very beautiful with outlandishly long hair just made for a floaty run through the high ceiling-ed halls of a derelict gothic mansion that didn't quite have the impact of a Mia Sara run through the labyrinth underground halls in Legend with the hauntingly beautiful score of Tangerine Dream.I have absolutely no interest in romance in films, and never have done much preferring detectives, ghosts, spy thrillers, action and adventure, but even to me there was a lack of fire in in those scenes. It was screamingly obvious from the get go that the Baronet was after the rich girl's money, the ghosts had an horrific appearance rather than ghostly and largely could be ignored as part of the plot (it passed me by that the lift in the dilapidated English mansion had a mind of its own and had taken her to some sort of sub basement in order to force her discovery of a clue to the machinations of the brother and sister plotters).In places the film clipped along and in places it was utterly tedious. Due to the patches of tedium I dropped my rating from three to two stars. For me it was an ok film that I couldn't bear to watch in places and only got to the end with a rather copious use of the 10 second fast forward.Maybe I was tired when I watched this film but I didn't get much out of it and cannot imagine watching it again.

Brilliant film and a must watch for all you horror fanatics out there.