10 Horror Movie Trailers That Lied to Everybody
8. Crimson Peak
Based on Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone, and Cabinet of Curiosities, it's obvious Guillermo del Toro has a knack for blending horror with fairytales, gothicism, folklore, and dark fantasy. As such, it was presumed Crimson Peak would follow this formula.
The beloved director's ninth feature centres around Edith, an heiress who moves into a crumbling estate with her new husband and his sister. When Edith starts being haunted by a scarlet spectre, she unearths a dark secret about her partner.
Not only does Crimson Peak have all the hallmarks of a ghost story, the trailer plays up every horror trope imaginable (including a few gratuitous spoilers). This notion is hammered in further since the trailer contains a quote from Stephen King, calling the film "terrifying".
But Crimson Peak is an odd entry in our horror list since it's technically not a horror. In fact, it barely classifies as a ghost story, playing out more like a mystery fantasy romance drama that happens to have a ghost in it.
Even though Crimson Peak is a beautiful love letter to early gothic stories, it wasn't sold that way.