7 Movies That Were Way Weirder Than Advertised

The name of Guillermo del Toro has always been synonymous with the supernatural. Every one of the Mexican director's films has in some way featured monsters and the macabre, and after taking a bit of side-step into sci-fi action with 2013's Pacific Rim, 2015's Crimson Peak seemed to promise a return to his old stomping ground.

Not too much was widely known about Crimson Peak prior to release, other than that it was a Gothic period piece involving ghosts. The film's marketing didn't reveal much more beyond this, quoting Mia Wasikowska's dialogue about having seen ghosts all her life, in a manner that suggested the film would be another Sixth Sense. Studio Universal's decision to release it near Halloween furthered the impression that it was a horror film.

However, while ghosts are indeed an element of Crimson Peak, they are by no means the driving force of the story. Del Toro had crafted not so much a standard chiller as a grandiose Gothic melodrama in the 19th century literary tradition; not a frame of reference that modern multiplex audiences are necessarily that familiar with.

As a result, Crimson Peak left horror fans underwhelmed and general audiences befuddled. Still, del Toro would comfortably bounce back with his next effort, Oscar winner The Shape of Water.