Director Guillermo del Toro might be in the thick of filming his version of Frankenstein overseas right now, but that isn’t stopping him from discussing why he feels that his 2015 film Crimson Peak failed to live up to box office expectations. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, and Charlie Hunnam, the film follows a young woman who marries a seductive Englishman, and is then whisked away to a Gothic mansion only to find herself confronted by ghostly visions of the past leading to a mystery she has to decipher. With a budget of $55 million, Crimson Peak only managed to bring in $74 million at the worldwide box office, leading many to label it a dud.
Speaking with Vulture, del Toro said that the movie was “doomed” from the start thanks to the marketing efforts of Universal Studios that labeled Crimson Peak as a horror film. Sure, it certainly has elements of the genre – like most del Toro projects – but he feels that it would have done better had they spent more time highlighting the romance and mystery elements that lay at its core.
“The thing that will always, pun intended, haunt that movie is that it was sold as a horror movie. But I remember distinctly, when we had the meetings [about promotion], they were all targeted toward getting the horror audience for the opening weekend. And I knew we were doomed! I was saying, ‘You should promote the romance, and you should promote the mystery. The last thing you want to do is promote it as horror.’ We were opening in October, and October is the month of Halloween, so I understand why it happened.”
Given the fact that it did open in October and was labeled as a horror movie, many moviegoers felt tricked after seeing the film. As it was promoted as the “scariest thing ever” by the director, it failed to deliver on that promise because it wasn’t, and it wasn’t supposed to be. It was a Gothic romance mystery hearkening back to films of yesteryear like Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca. The supernatural elements were never meant to be the crux of the film, but were rather there to aid its themes of repressed sexuality, death, healing, and how – try as we might – we can never escape our past.
Crimson Peak Still Managed to Gain a Cult Following
Despite initial reactions to Crimson Peak being mixed thanks to the marketing efforts that failed to do it justice, del Toro’s Gothic romance has still managed to gain a cult-like following over the years, and rightfully so. It’s a beautifully shot masterpiece that deserves recognition, not for its horror elements, but for the tale of love and loss that lies at its center. Hiddleston, Chastain, and Wasikowska’s performances are second to none, and the set pieces and cinematography only serve to heighten its allure.
Well aware of its status nearly 10 years following its release, del Toro says he’d rather be the director of something that fans fall in love with and remember fondly, rather than be at the helm of something that is forgotten with time.
“It’s a movie that connects with the people who love it at an almost molecular level. Little by little, some movies gather their audience through the years. Some others are very successful right when they come out, then you don’t hear from them again. We can have every variation. I’m finding that I’m happier when I’m in a relationship with people who truly find a movie and own it.”
While it’s currently not available on any streaming service, fans of Gothic tales would do well to search out Crimson Peak and give it a digital rental on a PVOD platform if they want to be captivated by something truly spectacular. In the filmography of del Toro, it ranks as some of the best work the director has ever given us, alongside favorites like The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth.