Crimson Peak, by Alyssa Chigioni
“Ghosts are real. This much I know”. So the Del Toro’s masterpiece starts and from that we can already figure out the movie will be about ghosts, murders and horror. The horror genre lays bare all our fears, and this movie is proof of that.
The plot is very complex, with two forces colliding with each other: love and death; indeed, this eternal struggle is the core of the story. Moreover, it’s enriched by gothic elements. First of all, the haunted house in disrepair, like in another recent horror film, “The Little Stranger”. The Sharpe’s house is enormous, just like the sum of money the owners need to maintain it. The house literally falls apart, as Thomas Sharpe says.
The estate, called “Crimson Peak”, is also the mirror of its owners: Lucille Sharpe and her brother Thomas, played by the talented Jessica Chastain and the renowned Tom Hiddleston. She is a wicked young woman with mental disorders, while he, who is her lover, is completely dependent on her. They commit crimes and trick the women who fall in love with Sharpe.
The protagonist, however, is Edith Cushing (played by the beautiful Mia Wasikowska), the daughter of a wealthy businessman, Carter Cushing, who becomes Thomas’ wife. She is enterprising but also a dreamer, loving and cunning. She discovers the deception by the Sharpes with the aid of the ghosts.
Over the course of the movie we discover that the house has witnessed many brutal murders. What is really scary that Lucille justifies all the horrors/crimes with Love. Now, this makes you think: Is love so powerful to lead someone to kill? Is love the really cause of this brutality? It is more likely the deaths are caused by the madness that began when the Sharpes were children: they killed their mother with a cleaver, but that was a truth too cruel to accept. However, maybe love contributes to the murders: Lucille really loves Thomas, even though he is her brother. Thomas, instead, is subjugated and manipulated by his sister, so he allowed her to commit the crimes. Their love is sick as well as lethal. Only Edith manages to untie Lucille’s chains from his heart, making him free.
Edith’s hallucinations of her mother, that she has had since she was a child, are another gothic element. These apparitions, however, are different from the typical ghostly apparitions that scare someone: in this case, the mother’s ghost tries to warn Edith, saying “Beware of Crimson Peak”. That is not the only ghost that helps the heroine: we see Enola, Mrs. Sharpe and finally Thomas. These supernatural warnings are the only bond between the living and the dead. This is underlined by Edith’s final monologue, a very emotional one:
“There are things that tie them (referred to ghosts) to a place, very much
like they do us. Some remain tethered to a patch of land, a time and date,
the spilling of blood, a terrible crime. There are others that hold onto an
emotion, a drive: loss, revenge or love.
Those, they never go away.”
The film’s setting is truly amazing, expecially the house, which is very realistic.
Finally, we must praise the contribution of the actors, with their marvellous performances, which perfectly outline the director’s gloomy world, where ghosts are real.
The Road
The road is a post-apocalyptic survival film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall, this movie is based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarty. The main protagonists are a child (Kodi Smit-McPHee) and his father (Viggo Mortensen), they are running to the south, escaping from the cold.
All the earth isn’t suitable for human life any more: every land, every sea are covered byash. The cause of the extinction of all the animals is unclear: from the beginning of the film we are thrown in a grey land, full of fire.
All the element in this movie could become real in the future, and this make us troubled and anxious as we watch; we can easily identify with the characters. The great work on the psychology of the characters makes this film very engaging and uncanny: the hunger brings cannibalism and so the fear of all the ‘bad’ people the protagonists talk about. These thoughts and emotions are perfectly conveyed by the actors and the scenography.
Those who watch The road after reading the novel that originated it will appreciate the choice to be very faithful to the source. Almost all the events in the book are shown in the movie. The addition of some flashbacks that help us understand the nature of event like the boy’s mother’s departure and her suicide is particularly admirable. Still, one still prefers the novel for the ability to create greater anxiety. Generally books (and series) convey more emotion and are probably more fascinating than movies.
If you are looking for something involving to watch or read, these masterpieces may be what you are looking for, so, enjoy the reading and the viewing!
by Mattia Cinchetti
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Guyscrapers 