Crimson Peak: 8 Reasons 2015's Biggest "Horror" Is A Massive Disappointment

8. The Scary Parts Feel Out-Of-Place

I already made a big point in my review of how del Toro repeatedly points out to the audience that Crimson Peak isn't a horror in some thinly veiled meta-commentary - in the words of Edith, this "story with a ghost in it" is really only using the ghosts as "a metaphor for the past" and is in fact "a love story". Now it is a smart move to make clear to the audiences that this movie, advertised as a sh*t-your-pants fright-ride, isn't actually that. However, it also accidentally highlights a major lack of focus - while there are scary bits in Crimson Peak, they don't really slot into the rest of the film. There's elements within them that add to the plot and overall tone (although that doesn't quite work - more on that later), but for the most part they're like action sequences in a sub-par adventure flick; requisite padding. There's nothing necessarily wrong with making a dark and brooding film in a haunted house that isn't a horror, but if you are going to do that and still steer into the genre tropes you need to make sure that the scary moments are not only, well, scary, but ensure they work well within the greater picture. Given that you've already got all the building blocks of a horror, that shouldn't be as difficult as it looks here.