There are plenty of movies released that I am perfectly happy knowing everything about before they ever show up in a theater. Then there are those films that I try to know nothing about because I imagine they will be such finely-tuned experiences that I don't want to deprive myself of that pleasure.
Such is the case with Guillermo Del Toro's new film, “Crimson Peak,” his latest film, and while I did watch the trailer, I feel like I still know next to nothing about it, which I love. After all, we don't get a new movie from Del Toro every year, and this one in particular marks a sort of collision of the two different filmmakers that Del Toro can be. There's the guy who makes these big fun crazy blood-filled bags of popcorn that don't really look like anyone else's idea of what a mainstream movie is, and then there's the guy who makes lovely small-scale Spanish-language films that play like fever dreams full of ghosts and heartbreak.
With “Crimson Peak,” it looks like he's doing both at once. This may well be the best cast he's ever had, with Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, and Tom Hiddleston all pinballing around a gigantic beautiful haunted house straight out of the darkest corner of Guilermo's brain. At first glance, this looks to be an unreasonably gorgeous movie. I love the tone of the trailer, and just so no one thinks we're dealing entirely in metaphor in the film, there are a few fairly groovy shots of the ghosts Mia's character is going to have to face.
I am so glad Thomas Tull and Guillermo found each other. When Tull decides to back someone, he goes all in, and it looks to me like he has finally allowed Guillermo to manifest everything in his head, building a haunted house with real teeth, and here's hoping our trip to “Crimson Peak” later this year leaves a scar.
“Crimson Peak” arrives in theaters October 2015.