It's......spooky time.
Or is it?
I ran out to the local Imax theater last night to catch a screening of Guillermo Del Toro's newest movie, Crimson Peak. A recent convert to the man's work by means of his absolutely fantastic Pacific Rim, I ran into Crimson Peak without much context. I don't really do scary movies, and generally keep my distance from anything that might remotely resemble horror; half the time its just blood and gore, and the other half of the time its jump scares and girls running around terrified, in a modern context. I have well over a thousand movies in my large home video collection, and I have maybe 3 horror films?
So, when I sat down for Crimson Peak, I didn't really have much of a foundation to go off of. I don't have any expectations for creepy movies.
Crimson Peak is a good, old fashioned haunted house movie, so I've been told. It's all about Edith Cushing, a naive young woman who falls in love with a man who has come to entice money out of her father to build some sort of clay extraction device. She runs away with him to his home in England, where things generally tend to go bump in the night. The house is in tatters, and creeks and groans with every step. Spirits walk the halls at night, haunting Edith as she attempts to fit in with her new husband. Its up to her to figure out the mystery behind the house and her new husband's family, and shadowy past.
Crimson Peak tries to play itself off in the trailers as a horror movie of sorts, but in the end, it feels more like a period piece with some body horror thrown into the mix. The principal trio of Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Jessica Chastain play well enough off of one another to create an effectively eerie atmosphere. Chastain especially tends to steal the scene, playing one of my favorite characters of the year. She brings so much energy to the role. She's like an avalanche, starting off slow, and then getting bigger and more destructive as the movie reaches its conclusion. Hiddleston finally plays a character that leaves behind his Loki persona; we exchange deranged confidence for a more quiet, reserved intensity, a side of Hiddleston that I hope we get to see a bit more of. Wasikowska kind of plays the same character she always plays: quiet, naive, and generally sad. It almost seems as if she's been typecast in these types of roles, which at present doesn't necessarily seem to be a bad thing.
Several actors from his last picture, the aforementioned Pacific Rim make appearances in supporting roles; Charlie Hunnam plays a pivotal role of sorts in the film's third act, a significant downgrade from being the lead Jaeger pilot in Pacific Rim, but fitting nonetheless. Burn Gorman makes a minor appearance as a shady detective as well in a small, but entertaining part.
As is the case with most modern period pieces, the cinematography and color palettes are really the star of the show. The film is full of intense colors, gorgeous wide shots, and tons of expert camera movements. The haunted house that the film is mostly set around is full of cool, dark colors that give the film a relentlessly hopeless feeling. Scenes set in Buffalo, NY are overwhelmingly warm, full of oranges and yellows. These scenes are absolutely filled with people and buildings, and feel wonderfully alive, a contrast to the meat and potatoes of the film.
Overall, without spoiling too much of the plot, I had a ton of fun watching Crimson Peak. The cinematography and effects were excellent, and the film shined on the digital Imax screen. The movie feels fresh in its execution, and borrows ideas from the likes of Alfred Hitchock and Robert Wise only briefly, refreshing some of their best ideas in a modern context. My final thoughts: I had a ton of fun with Crimson Peak, the same kind of fun that I had screening Pacific Rim in Imax two years ago. It was an extremely satisfying film to watch unfold before me in every way.
Go see this movie!
Tech talk:
IMDB lists this movie as being shot using an Arri Alexa XT digital camera. Beyond that, not a whole lot of information regarding the resolution at which the visual effects were generated, and the film was color graded exists. Regardless, the film was presented at an aspect ratio of 1.91:1, a slight crop from the film's true aspect ratio of 1.85:1 to fit the digital Imax's 2K projection format. Screening everywhere in 2D across the board, the film shines on the Imax screen for the most part. Close ups and medium shots were fantastic, and absolutely deserved the large size of the Imax's screen, although I did view this on a purpose built Imax screen here in Rochester, NY. Wide shots and anything that tried to show the size and scale of the sets however, suffered due to the limitations of screening a 2K picture at that magnification to fit the large Imax screen. I would argue however, that the benefits outweigh the problems, and therefore can heartily recommend screening this film in Imax!
Or is it?
I ran out to the local Imax theater last night to catch a screening of Guillermo Del Toro's newest movie, Crimson Peak. A recent convert to the man's work by means of his absolutely fantastic Pacific Rim, I ran into Crimson Peak without much context. I don't really do scary movies, and generally keep my distance from anything that might remotely resemble horror; half the time its just blood and gore, and the other half of the time its jump scares and girls running around terrified, in a modern context. I have well over a thousand movies in my large home video collection, and I have maybe 3 horror films?
So, when I sat down for Crimson Peak, I didn't really have much of a foundation to go off of. I don't have any expectations for creepy movies.
Crimson Peak is a good, old fashioned haunted house movie, so I've been told. It's all about Edith Cushing, a naive young woman who falls in love with a man who has come to entice money out of her father to build some sort of clay extraction device. She runs away with him to his home in England, where things generally tend to go bump in the night. The house is in tatters, and creeks and groans with every step. Spirits walk the halls at night, haunting Edith as she attempts to fit in with her new husband. Its up to her to figure out the mystery behind the house and her new husband's family, and shadowy past.
Crimson Peak tries to play itself off in the trailers as a horror movie of sorts, but in the end, it feels more like a period piece with some body horror thrown into the mix. The principal trio of Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Jessica Chastain play well enough off of one another to create an effectively eerie atmosphere. Chastain especially tends to steal the scene, playing one of my favorite characters of the year. She brings so much energy to the role. She's like an avalanche, starting off slow, and then getting bigger and more destructive as the movie reaches its conclusion. Hiddleston finally plays a character that leaves behind his Loki persona; we exchange deranged confidence for a more quiet, reserved intensity, a side of Hiddleston that I hope we get to see a bit more of. Wasikowska kind of plays the same character she always plays: quiet, naive, and generally sad. It almost seems as if she's been typecast in these types of roles, which at present doesn't necessarily seem to be a bad thing.
Several actors from his last picture, the aforementioned Pacific Rim make appearances in supporting roles; Charlie Hunnam plays a pivotal role of sorts in the film's third act, a significant downgrade from being the lead Jaeger pilot in Pacific Rim, but fitting nonetheless. Burn Gorman makes a minor appearance as a shady detective as well in a small, but entertaining part.
As is the case with most modern period pieces, the cinematography and color palettes are really the star of the show. The film is full of intense colors, gorgeous wide shots, and tons of expert camera movements. The haunted house that the film is mostly set around is full of cool, dark colors that give the film a relentlessly hopeless feeling. Scenes set in Buffalo, NY are overwhelmingly warm, full of oranges and yellows. These scenes are absolutely filled with people and buildings, and feel wonderfully alive, a contrast to the meat and potatoes of the film.
Overall, without spoiling too much of the plot, I had a ton of fun watching Crimson Peak. The cinematography and effects were excellent, and the film shined on the digital Imax screen. The movie feels fresh in its execution, and borrows ideas from the likes of Alfred Hitchock and Robert Wise only briefly, refreshing some of their best ideas in a modern context. My final thoughts: I had a ton of fun with Crimson Peak, the same kind of fun that I had screening Pacific Rim in Imax two years ago. It was an extremely satisfying film to watch unfold before me in every way.
Go see this movie!
Tech talk:
IMDB lists this movie as being shot using an Arri Alexa XT digital camera. Beyond that, not a whole lot of information regarding the resolution at which the visual effects were generated, and the film was color graded exists. Regardless, the film was presented at an aspect ratio of 1.91:1, a slight crop from the film's true aspect ratio of 1.85:1 to fit the digital Imax's 2K projection format. Screening everywhere in 2D across the board, the film shines on the Imax screen for the most part. Close ups and medium shots were fantastic, and absolutely deserved the large size of the Imax's screen, although I did view this on a purpose built Imax screen here in Rochester, NY. Wide shots and anything that tried to show the size and scale of the sets however, suffered due to the limitations of screening a 2K picture at that magnification to fit the large Imax screen. I would argue however, that the benefits outweigh the problems, and therefore can heartily recommend screening this film in Imax!
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