The typical gothic horror is as thin as gossamer and shaded in grey, but Guillermo Del Toro does tend to do things differently. There's a thick vein of rich colour in this trailer for Crimson Peak, and not just in the shots of a surprisingly gruesome ghost. You might also want to play Del Toro bingo and check off his most popular tropes, from eerie mechanics and automation to unusual insect life. It's all so very Del Toro that I'm not at all surprised Legendary Pictures have edited in a title card promising this is his "ultimate masterpiece." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8NTNc7myeE I read the screenplay for Crimson Peak, imagining something heated and passionate but somehow more wispy than this trailer. Not that it looks wrong - not at all, I think it looks great. And Del Toro being who he is, every last one of these visuals has been composed with great care and loaded with meaning. Crimson Peak is set for release this October, but this trailer was launched now to play alongside 50 Shades of Grey. It makes a certain kind of sense, and not just because of the quick flashes of bedroom action. They're both fantasy stories, in their ways, that can be traced back to Wuthering Heights.
Brendon Connelly has been a film writer since the early 90s, with time on the staff of Orbit Magazine, Slashfilm, Bleeding Cool, Den of Geek and many more. He's a long time teacher of film studies and practical filmmaking classes, and has directed music videos, commercials, short films and more. His favourite film is Terry Gilliam's Brazil, his favourite food is pancakes or crepes, and he tries to live his life by the teachings of Kermit the Frog.
