October 17th brought with it a strangely happy holiday by the name of Sweetest Day. While most of the country doesn’t celebrate it, my understanding is that it was supposed to be a For Him Valentines day, but then it evolved into just Valentine’s day part two. This is important because my girlfriend took me out for Sweetest Day, and treated me to the brand new horror flick by Guillermo Del Toro, Crimson Peak.
I feel that my first impression of the movie was how vibrant and bright it was. Most movies these days lack saturation, you work with a lot of blacks and grays with washed out color schemes. Usually this adds to the bleak feel of what is usually a tragedy. Del Toro’s choice to make this movie so incredibly vibrant had an engaging and powerful effect on the viewer. Even before any of the intruige or horror started, I found myself leaning into the story, sliding closer to the edge of my seat.
The second impression was how incredibly traditional it was. I won’t spoil anything but the narrative, as well as the style of story telling, was an amazing horror homage to the times of Poe or even Dickenson’s A Christmas Carol. Anyone who can appreciate the roots of today’s horror genre will absolutely love this film.
As a sort of PS, Tom Hiddleston, the actor who plays Loki in the Marvel films, knocks yet another role right out of the park.
My rating is a solid 4 out of 5.
