"Beware of Crimson Peak," snarls a ghost at the start of Guillermo del Toro's latest exercise in creepy production design. At the time I had no idea that it wasn't just a warning to Mia Wasikowska's Edith Cushing (a warning that, because this is a movie, goes totally and completely unheeded), but to the audience too - beware of Crimson Peak, it's not as good as you were expecting. So yeah, the most high-profile horror of 2015 (I think we can safely say that Paranormal Activity has cycled back round to niche again) isn't great. It has elements that are certainly impressive, as you'd expect from a much lauded-director, but not enough to come together to make anything more than a sub-par whole. I wasn't as hyped Crimson Peak as much as some - del Toro's Hollywood outings have never grabbed me in the way they have others - but, when we're dealing with a movie with this much alleged talent behind the scenes, that it turned pretty bad still makes it a major disappointment. I've already layed into the film in my main review, but there's so many more elements of Crimson Peak that have left me thinking that I just have to go into it in a bit more depth - here are the eight reasons it's 2015's biggest let-down. Warning: mild spoilers.
