Crimson Peak

'Ghosts are real,' explains aspiring American novelist Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) in director Guillermo del Toro's psychosexual thriller. 'Ghosts are a metaphor for the past.' In Buffalo, NY, during the early 1900s, Edith is the only child of wealthy widowed industrialist Carter Cushing (Jim Beaver). Eminently eligible, Edith is courted by optometrist Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam). But then she meets obsequious Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), a penniless British aristocrat seeking American backing for his mining device called 'a clay harvester.' Sharpe is accompanied by his icy, intimidating older sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain). After Edith's father astutely observes, 'There's something not quite right about them,' a brutal murder occurs that is made to look like an accident. Heiress Edith then marries Thomas, who whisks her off to Allerdale Hall--his ancestral estate in northern England--a decrepit, four-story Victorian house with a creaking elevator, where Edith is forbidden to visit the basement. It quickly becomes obvious that Thomas is not who he seems, particularly when Edith sees terrifying apparitions that haunt the cold and cavernous hallways of the lavishly ornate mansion perched atop a heap of blood-red clay. Reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, del Toro insists that this is a gothic romance, not a horror film; either way, the heroine eventually discovers what the audience has already figured out in this rather traditional and predictable melodrama (albeit with stunning sets and sumptuous costumes). A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by co-writer/director Guillermo del Toro, the production segments 'Beware' (8 min.) and 'The Light and Dark' (8 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the behind-the-scenes featurettes 'I Remember' (19 min.), 'A Living Thing' (12 min.), 'Hand Tailored Gothic' (9 min.), 'Crimson Phantoms' (7 min.), and 'A Primer on Gothic Romance' (6 min.), as well as bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package—on Blu-ray—for this uneven chiller.] (S. Granger) [Blu-ray Review—Jan. 15, 2019—Arrow, 131 min., R, Blu-ray: $49.95—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 2015’s Crimson Peak features a great transfer with DTS-HD 7.1 audio. Extras include audio commentary by co-writer/director Guillermo del Toro, the production featurettes 'The House is Alive' (50 min.), 'Violence and Beauty in Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic Fairy Tale Films' (24 min.), 'Allerdale Hall: Four Featurettes' (20 min.), 'Kim Newman on Crimson Peak and the Tradition of Gothic Romance' with the film critic (18 min.), 'A Living Thing' (12 min.), 'Hand Tailored Gothic' (8 min.), 'Beware of Crimson Peak' (8 min.), 'The Light and Dark' (8 min.), 'Crimson Phantoms' (7 min.), and 'A Primer on Gothic Romance' (6 min.), as well as an interview with del Toro (9 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), and image galleries. Bottom line: although the already sharp image looks a wee bit sharper, there is not much reason for those who already own the Universal Blu-ray release to upgrade.]