If you were to task both critics and general audiences with naming their favourite active directors, I would place a bet on Guillermo del Toro being the first name on the lips of many. The Mexican monster-lover has the unique ability to juggle both passion projects that clearly mean a lot to the filmmaker, and large-scale blockbusters to appease the studios, and this one-for-me, one-for-you approach has allowed to him to bring to the screen some incredibly personal stories which would have otherwise been left to linger in the director's imagination. So for every The Devil's Backbone, we got a Hellboy, and for every Pan's Labyrinth, we got a Pacific Rim. 2015's Crimson Peak was del Toro's first attempt at blending these two styles. Movie lovers could admire the breathtaking visuals and attention to detail, while the general audience could enjoy a juicy gothic mystery featuring some of the industry's most attractive stars. The result is a very mixed bag.
In turn-of-the-century New York, heiress Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) dreams of becoming an author, but finds herself dissuaded at every turn by the men holding the power. Her father, wealthy businessman Carter (Jim Beaver), is visited by English travelling salesman Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), who is seeking investment for his clay-mining machinery. The dashing bachelor is shut down by Carter, but catches the eye of Edith, and two begin a romantic affair. When Carter dies, Edith marries Thomas and travels to his home Allerdale Hall in Cumberland, a decaying mansion dubbed 'Crimson Peak' due to the red clay oozing up from the ground. Joining them will be Thomas' ice-cold sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), who seems to harbour a resentment for her brother's new wife. But Crimson Peak has stories to tell, and Edith's unexplained connection to the spirit world means that she is frequently visited by hideous tormented ghosts carrying warnings. Back in the U.S., former suitor Dr. McMichael (Charlie Hunnam) is conducting his own research into the Sharpes and their shady history.
Del Toro has always excelled at building tangible worlds which seem to live and breath alongside the characters, and the rotting interiors of Allerdale Hall is one of the director's greatest achievements. Lush with exquisite detail, the house pulses with menace, tormenting Edith with locked doors and taps that spurt red before running clear. There's even a hole in the ceiling that allows snow to gather at the bottom of the main staircase, and the splashes of bold colour evoke the likes of Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Hammer. It's a feast for the senses, and it's just enough to distract from the mediocrity of the main story and the inclusion of CGI spectres. The mystery unravels quite beautifully, but the problem is that you'll already be two or three steps ahead. Nothing that happens in Crimson Peak will come as a surprise, especially after you've quickly realised that anyone with an English accent can't be trusted. The film loses its physicality somewhat when attempting to deliver the scares, as twisted ghosts crawl and squeal their way towards Edith. Computer-generated apparitions will never be scary, and Crimson Peak packs way more impact when catching you off guard with moments of extreme violence that will make you wince and cry out without averting your gaze. Rank this somewhere above Pacific Rim and below Hellboy II.
A distinct lack of charm and originality have never been criticisms to inspire a studio to scrap a billion dollar franchise in favour of doing something a little more worthwhile, so Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) return four years after their detour to Africa for another continent-spanning adventure, this time in Europe. This third entry into the hugely successful franchise packs so much colour, noise and incident into its 90 minute running time that the issues with the first two films - which are still present here - are reduced to a mere afterthought. To my utter surprise, Europe's Most Wanted is actually quite fun.
Bored with Africa and longing for their home in New York, the anthropomorphic foursome take sail to Monte Carlo, where the penguins and primates have already made themselves at home. An incident in a casino leads to a vicious, game-hunting animal control worker named Chantal DuBois (Frances McDormand) chasing them across the city. As the authorities close in, the group make a break for it by hopping on a circus train, where they are met with resistance by a bitter, once-famous performer Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston), but welcomed by the doe-eyed jaguar Gia (Jessica Chastain) and the optimistic sea lion Stefano (Martin Short). With the circus lacking inspiration with a tired act, Alex and co. come up with a plan to reinvigorate the show as they tour Europe, in the hope of making enough money to get them home.
Making up for the blocky, uninspired animation of the previous movies, Madagascar 3 is a feast for the eyes, really coming to life during the physics-defying, laser-filled circus shows. The script is slightly more sophisticated, which is possibly due to the involvement of Noah Baumbach, yet the characters still need to compensate for the lack of actual jokes by shouting nonsense or falling over. As for the newcomers, they are infinitely more engaging than the stock long-lost family members from part 2, with Cranston clearly revelling in the chance to do a ridiculous Russian accent, and Chastain purring it up as the love interest. However, the biggest impression is left by a character who doesn't speak at all; a giant female bear (the growls are performed by Frank Welker) who forms a weird romantic relationship with King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen) in the movie's most endearing transgressive move. The narrative is packed with problems, but the whole thing whizzes by far too fast to care.
The poster for Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi masterpiece Alien told us that in space, no-one can hear you scream. 36 years later, and it would seem that no-one can hear you colonising a planet in a desperate effort to stay alive either. Scott's latest, which has recently invited controversy due to its ridiculous Golden Globe victory in the 'Musical or Comedy' category, takes a refreshingly optimistic view of one man's struggle when left stranded on Mars with only his wits and a never-ending list of obstacles to overcome to keep him from losing his sanity. After the let-down of Scott's recent return to the sci-fi genre with Prometheus, The Martian has the director firmly back in form.
In 2035, the crew of the Ares III, commanded by Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), are exploring the surface of Mars when a violent dust storm forces them to flee. Botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is struck by debris and when his space suit reports a breach and no sign of life, the remaining crew reluctantly escape presuming Mark to be dead. When he awakes hours later with an antenna protruding from his stomach and his oxygen levels dangerously low, he makes his way back to the living quarters and quickly sets about calculating how long he can survive on what he has. Discovering he only has about a month left, he "sciences the shit" out of whatever he can salvage and successfully starts growing food.
As ludicrous as The Martian's inclusion in the Musical or Comedy category was, the film is still very funny. In one of many efforts to hold on to his sanity, Mark talks to himself while recording a log of his actions, revealing a laid-back and sardonic sense of humour which seems to come naturally to the actor. With little in the way of explosive set-pieces, The Martian opts to be subtly engaging as opposed to outright exciting. Mark's can-do attitude gives a stubborn optimism to the movie's outlook, and with comments such as "fuck you, Mars" following one particularly hard-earned achievement, it's hard not to cheer him along.
Also absent are any suggestions of puffy-chested patriotism or evil-doing among the people back on Earth trying to bring Mark home. The only person resembling a 'baddie' who mission director Vincent Karpoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) clashes heads with is NASA director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels), but even he retains his humanity throughout. If there is a criticism to be had, it's that Mark never feels truly in danger in such an inhospitable landscape. But The Martian takes care to lay out and explain all the science-y stuff going on with clarity and without heavy exposition, and although I wouldn't have a clue if what they were saying was nonsense or mathematically correct, you have to marvel at the detail. A smart and unexpectedly joyous space survival movie, with what is undoubtedly Damon's finest performance to date.
Set in New York during 1981, the year in which the city recorded its highest crime rate, A Most Violent Year evokes the American cinema of the 1970's - brutally unsentimental and strictly character-driven. There are no sweeping shots of Times Square or children playing in water squirting from a busted fire hydrant; this is snowy and industrial, and slower and more thoughtful than it's rather shoddy title suggests. It's also bolstered by some impressive performances, with lead Oscar Isaac continuing his recent star-making yet modest run of late, again proving that he is Lon Chaney's natural successor to the 'man of a thousand faces' tag with another chameleon-esque performance.
Yet the slow pace and brooding intensity doesn't quite deliver towards the end, offering a predictable and easy resolution compared to the memorable finale I was expecting. Isaac plays immigrant Abel Morales, who is Abel in both name and execution, riding high on the top of a newly-built oil company while his murky competitors snarl at his success. With corruption infesting the entire city from every corner, Assistant District Attorney Lawrence (David Oyelowo) is breathing down his neck, only Abel is trying his best to keep on the straight and narrow. The father of his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), belonged to a different generation, one that succeeded through violence and intimidation, exactly the kind of reputation Abel is trying to shake.
In a bit to surpass his competitors, Abel and his lawyer Andrew Walsh (Albert Brooks) strike a deal with a group of Jewish Hasidim to purchase land that will allow him to ship in his product directly from the dock. He is given a week to honour the contract and pay a hefty sum, and the land is his. Only his competitors have different ideas, and Abel suspects one, or all, of them are behind the recent truck hijackings that have left his drivers, namely fellow immigrant Julian (Elyes Gabel), shook up. The union are soon on his back to arm his employees so they may have a better chance at defending themselves, but Abel wants no blood on his hands. With pressure coming from the D.A., his rivals, the Teamsters and his wife, Abel must survive the week before his empire crumbles.
With its dialogue-heavy meetings in barber shops and warehouses and the sight of Isaac in a huge camel-hair coat, comparisons to classics gangster films, notably The Godfather (1972), are obvious. But this is a study of business, and the film comes alive with a hushed conversation more than it does with its sporadic bursts of violence. Technically, it's tightly-controlled and immaculate, with director J.C. Chandor wisely choosing not to score the film with 80's synth and give everyone a mullet, but instead preferring a more lived-in feel. However, too often does the story seem unbelievable and contradictory for such a polished film, faltering at the pay-off when the build-up suggested something special. If I gave half-stars in my review ratings then this would certainly earn itself one, but it will have to settle for 3 out of 5 for now.
Christopher Nolan and his writing partner/brother Jonathan have made a career out of delivering cold, intelligent blockbusters that often work like a puzzle-box slowly unravelling in front of your face. For their next trick, the duo have tackled the great beyond, gazing in awe at the skies while ensuring the heavy layer of science makes sense. You may need a degree or a PhD to fully understand what is going on here, but the Nolan's respect their audience enough to allow their exposition-heavy story to unfold without spoon-feeding. Interstellar is their most ambitious, while not their best, project yet.
In the near-future, Earth is slowly succumbing to famine due to crop blight. History is being re-written in schools to drive home the importance of saving the planet, and ex-NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is one of many given the responsibility of growing a successful crop. When a mysterious force sends binary messages to him through a bookcase in the bedroom of his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy), Cooper arrives at a secret NASA base, where Professor John Brand (Michael Caine) is planning to send a willing crew of astronauts through a wormhole in space to search for a new home for humanity. Their previous mission has uncovered three potential planets, but the astronauts have not been heard from since.
Cooper, leaving his devastated young daughter behind, and a small crew (consisting of Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi and a humorous robot) set off on the mission, while Brand stays on Earth to work out the formula that will solve the problem of transporting every man, woman and child on Earth millions of light years through space. One of the planets is so close to a black hole that it causes gravitational time dilation, meaning that every hour spent on its surface is seven years of time back home. After a disastrous mission, Coop finds that his children have aged 23 years (and becoming Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck in the process), and Murph is now working for Professor Brand.
While this is a lot of plot to take in, and it really isn't the half of it, the Nolans' skill at storytelling and narrative mean that you feel that, no matter how insane the proceedings get, things are going to add up in the end. When the film often threatens to get muddled with heavy explanatory dialogue that doesn't really help and trying to help us understand the workings of black holes, gravity and space travel, Nolan ensures that he doesn't lose his focus. The big idea is that we are not meant to stay here. We are destined to leave, explore and discover. Nolan's passion for the subject is clear as day, and his sense of wonder is brought to life by cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who paints space as something wonderful, strange, and fucking terrifying.
Despite the film's often crazy ideas, it feels authentic. Nolan worked closely with theoretical physicist Kip Thorne on developing the film, so Interstellar is (ironically) grounded, and Nolan wisely doesn't try to replicate the philosophical approach of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). It's far from perfect - you could easily pick at plot-(black)holes, some explanatory scenes are heavy-handed and ridiculous, and the warm-up is far too long - but you have to admire the ambition, and be grateful that there's a film-maker out there who can repeatedly prove that the casual movie-goer isn't stupid. 2001's crown is comfortably safe, but Interstellar is a fascinating, engaging and one-of-a-kind experience. Even if you don't like it, I bet you'll be talking about it for days afterwards. Plus it has the most loveable astronaut's-best-friend robots since Silent Running (1972).
The title Zero Dark Thirty, referring in military-speak to the 12:30 am time in which American forces broke into a compound in Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, is suitably apt for a film that puts procedural above all else. It's the lack of emotion and absence of any real identifiable character development that makes Kathryn Bigelow's thriller all the more absorbing, rushing from shouty suits in offices to dusty interrogation rooms, refusing to skip any details that led to the death of America's greatest ever enemy. Unless you've been locked in a basement for the past two or so years, you will be well aware of what happens at the climax, but it's what led to the news story that is so interesting, given that the events have been relatively hidden or unknown to the public.
Young, green CIA officer Maya (Jessica Chastain) arrives in Pakistan, assigned to work with fellow officer Dan (Jason Clarke), who is in the middle of an interrogation with Ammar al-Baluchi, a suspect in the 9/11 attacks. After days (possibly weeks) of waterboarding and humiliation, al-Baluchi gives up the name of Abu Ahmed, who he identifies as bin Laden's personal courier. When Dan is reassigned and with the practise of torture becoming political taboo, Maya finds herself working on hunches and scraps trying to track down the mysterious Abu Ahmed, who many claim to be dead. But after a fellow analyst finds new information, Maya is led to a large compound in Pakistan, and prepares for a Navy SEAL-led infiltration.
For such a cold film, there is always the danger of losing the audience in the sheer frankness of it all. The saving grace is undoubtedly Chastain, Oscar-nominated for her steely portrayal of a woman whose obsession borders on dangerous. She shows relatively little emotion, even when exposed to Dan's brutal torture routines, and the film rarely shows her out of her work-place. There is no man in her life, thankfully, and will gladly step over someone if she thought it would bring her closer to her target. But, like Jeremy Renner's William James in The Hurt Locker (2009), she is the perfect tool for the job. Not necessarily likeable, but fit for her purpose. She is a modern action hero, using words and persistence over machine guns and body paint.
Like the work of Paul Greengrass, Bigelow manages to make an action thriller routed in reality, making as much out of a phone call as a gun fight. And it's the interactions of the hierarchy and the political manoeuvring that keep the film moving, highlighting the possible repercussions, politically, socially and ethically, of every minute decision. But when the real action does come, it doesn't disappoint, as a team of grunts (amongst them Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt) storm bin Laden's compound in almost permanent night-vision mode. It's captured in all it's confusion, as unsuspecting heads pop out of doors and bullets are fired at unseen targets. The film could have been a sickening exercise in puffy-chested patriotism, but in Bigelow's - and screenwriter Mark Boal's - hands, it is thorough and intelligent, harking back to the 1970's when topical film-making was still important.
Prohibition-era America is incredibly rich in narrative and mythology. Behind the realities of the great economic depression the underbelly of society rise in criminal organisation, creating the underworld of bootleg alcohol and the clandestine drinking establishments known as speakeasies. With this specific historical backdrop, American cinema has created a glamorised iconography of the 1930's, the idolised gangsters and almost politically justified violence. Lawless only briefly flirts with the glamour of this period, but believes in the self-appointed mythology of it's characters. John Hillcoat and Nick Cave's film embeds itself within the roots, straight to the source of the big city's modern attractions. We're not in Al Capone's Chicago, but deep in the heart of the American wilderness, Franklin County, Virginia.
The three Bondurant brothers, Howard (Jason Clarke), Forest (Tom Hardy), and Jack (Shia LeBeouf), run a moonshine operation in the sparsely populated backwater town, and despite the national prohibition laws, local authorities participate in alcohol consumption. But even within the moral vacuum of Virginia, the modern corruption and perversity's of the city will inevitably invade. Guy Pearce's sinister and narcissistic "lawman", Charlie Rakes, infects the rustic landscape with his false malevolence. Pearce shaves his eyebrows off for the role, bringing a visual nod towards the characters vanity. His appearance is impeccable, and an odour of perfume is alluded to on occasion, a veneer that hides a deeply sadistic human, a character who also flaunts his wealth within poverty perhaps a signifier of our current perception of the suited banker.
In American Gothic traditions, surrounding the three brothers is a legend perpetuated within the small community, a superstition created out of perceived supernatural beginnings. After the two older brothers escape death in situations where others perished, a myth is attached to them suggesting that the Bondurants are invincible, a narrative that opens a niche in the community where they are impervious to the nations laws. Tom Hardy's middle child is the centre of this family unit, and his hulking presence tersely guides them, where as the elder, Howard, is the fearless bulldog, throwing himself at anything in their way. Forest's violence is calculated, he seems too bulky and clumsy in his laconic mannerisms, but, as in a scene in their bar, a densely packed burst of violence culminates in some horrifically graphic images. Believing your own myth is central to Lawless. Because of this belief, their confidence knows no boundaries. Even the audience is given the evidence to believe, when Forest survives having his throat hacked open.
Whilst the older brothers battle to keep equilibrium, attempting to block the outside, modern world from intruding upon their traditions and redneck hokum, Lawless is fundamentally about the younger Jack, and LeBeouf gives his best performance to date. His character is set up perfectly when witnessing Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman) crashing through the small community, tommygun rattling at the car of his pursuers, the idealised image of gangster chic. Jack idolises these city criminals like teenagers idolise idiot pseudo-celebrity today, highlighting his naivete as he looks into this world from the outside. What comes with Jacks hero-worship is an unwavering ambition to take the bootlegging business further. LeBeouf balances Jack's progression with great intensity, managing the conflicting mix of gullibility and confrontational confidence. Whilst not a perfect performance, I saw a bit of Tom Hanks in LeBeouf.
Like Hillcoat's previous films The Proposition (2005) and The Road (2008), Lawless evokes the visual textures of the landscape. The first in the Australian outback, secondly in a post-apocalyptic world, working again with cinematographer Benoit Delhomme (who collaborated previously on The Proposition), the environment permeates the screen, the dust kicked up from informally created roads, scattered over the wooden, man-made structures, the grit and grime forming with the sticky blood as Jack is violently beaten to the ground by Rakes. The untouched landscape can be both beautiful and malevolent.
A film about corruption, and particularly the long hand that breaks from the city limits to corrupt further afield. 2012 is possibly the perfect time to reflect upon this 21st century depression, and remember not to worship false idols. Nick Cave based his terse screenplay on a novel by Matt Bondurant (grandson of Jack), and obviously is based upon a true story. Whether much has been passed down through the family with ambiguities, the Chinese whisper of myth making is unknown, but the Bondurant brothers seem mythical. Their involvement in a national epidemic, the superstition of death-dodging all add to their own sense of power and the towns fear of them. Are they supernatural heroes of the American psyche? Or, do the older brothers reflect the defeated world of the Wall Street crash, whilst the younger reaches out to the celebrity world of high-class gangster, looking to a future of wealth? It's an interesting inclusion into the reflective nature of cyclical history. As we continue through our own economic crisis, we look back to the past to compare, and check on our evolution, if there is any at all.
Curtis (Michael Shannon) is suffering from apocalyptic nightmares that foresees a huge storm encroaching the area. He also dreams of his wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and his dead daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart) trying to harm him, along with his best friend and work colleague Dewart (Shea Whigham). Fearing his visions are true, Curtis starts to build a huge underground shelter in his yard, taking out a massive loan he can't afford and borrowing work equipment from his job. Knowing that his mother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, Curtis and the dedicated Samantha worry that he is in fact losing his mind, as his behaviour becomes more unpredictable and erratic.
Working on two levels, Take Shelter works both as a character drama that creates a realistic and slightly disturbing portrayal of mental disease, and as an apocalyptic thriller. America is known as one of the most paranoid and high-anxiety countries in the world, with areas of near-fanatical religious and political beliefs, high gun crime, the threat of terrorism, and most recently, financial gloom with the recession. Curtis seems to embody these fears. His nightmares don't reveal too much about what he thinks may happen - there's a storm, murderous attacks by his loved ones, a petrol-like substance falling from the sky - so he is essentially terrified of the unknown. Like Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011), the film is very much the thinking-man's vision of the apocalypse, and rather than action scenes and cities being destroyed in CGI, it is the psychological meltdown of its protagonist that it is more interested in.
If he were younger and better-looking, Michael Shannon would have been a superstar years ago. Instead, he is seen all too little on the big screen, and is currently stealing HBO's Boardwalk Empire as religious fanatic FBI agent Val Alden. Here, he even betters his Oscar-nominated 5-minute cameo in the criminally underrated Revolutionary Road (2008), giving a towering performance as a man slowly tearing himself apart. Chastain and Whigham (also starof Boardwalk Empire) offer admirable support as the supportive wife and best friend respectively. Although the climax is somewhat predictable, it has power nonetheless, thanks to Jeff Nichols' unfussy direction and the fact that the journey there is so riveting. One of the most overlooked films of 2011.
Terrence Malick's 5th film since his brilliant debut, Badlands (1973), The Tree of Life is seemingly a semi-autobiographical familial story of the O'Brien flock. The film begins with a brief look at the family in 1950's Texas. Headed by Brad Pitt's authoritarian Mr O'Brien, his wife Jessica Chastain, and their three boys, Jack (Hunter McCraken), R. L. (Laramie Eppler) and Steve (Tye Sheridan). This is often juxtaposed with an adult Jack (Sean Penn), who seems to be struggling with the memories of his childhood. The end of these first sequences are occupied by the death of one of the boys.
This is followed by a grandiose, visually stunning opus of the creation of worlds and life. A heavily orchestrated sequence with a scientific outlook for the big bang and what follows. We even see some CGI dinosaurs, occupying the beautiful, serene landscape. A tree, like life has wild branches, vein-like, splitting off on tangents, moving into different directions. Humbled by the complexity of this, we are back with the O'Brien clan, as we see birth in all it's joy. A family drama ensues, with Pitt's father, authoritarian, sometimes coldly tender to his boys. He does love his boys, but is stern, particularly with the eldest, Jack. Jack's feelings of hate towards his father becomes increasingly apparent. As Jack progresses, he begins to see the world, the relationships, in a more mature manner. In one sequence he states to his father, "This is your home, you can make me leave any time you want." His thoughts are whispered, as he thinks after "You want to kill me". Jack is also seen praying for God to kill his father.
The films major theme is reflective of both religion and hard science. Philosophy is fundamental to the process involved in the nature of life. Mrs O'Brien tells her sons in voice-over "There are two ways through life: the way of nature and the way of grace". This perfectly encapsulates the meaning behind the film. All actors involved are wonderful. Pitt's Mr O'Brien is stern, and effective, we feel almost threatened by his coldness. And all three boys are seemingly natural in their performances.
For the visual effects, Malick had Douglas Trumball pulled out of retirement, and (except for the dinosaurs), began experimental with natural substances to create the beautifully realised creation sequences. The use of Trumball seems to be reflective of the nature of the films themes. The Tree of Life often feels like a religious reworking of Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - that Trumball also worked on - and Malick, like Kubrick, uses music wonderfully, evoking creations beauty. It is simply the elliptical nature of the film that gives it a fantastical, grandiose quality. Creation of life is juxtaposed with it's inevitable partner, death, and in turn how this effects life.
Winner of the Palme D'Or at 2011's Cannes film festival, The Tree of Life has been met with polar-opposite reactions. In its first showing at Cannes it was booed. Pretentious has been bandied round a lot in reaction to the film. Yeah, it has pretensions (of course it does - it's a huge subject to tackle). I watched the film with awe, its beauty utterly beguiling and surprising me. Many of the shots in the film are so stunning, I would be very happy to frame them to adorn my walls. And, due to its complexities, it is certainly one of those films that requires more viewings.
In turn-of-the-century New York, heiress Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) dreams of becoming an author, but finds herself dissuaded at every turn by the men holding the power. Her father, wealthy businessman Carter (Jim Beaver), is visited by English travelling salesman Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), who is seeking investment for his clay-mining machinery. The dashing bachelor is shut down by Carter, but catches the eye of Edith, and two begin a romantic affair. When Carter dies, Edith marries Thomas and travels to his home Allerdale Hall in Cumberland, a decaying mansion dubbed 'Crimson Peak' due to the red clay oozing up from the ground. Joining them will be Thomas' ice-cold sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), who seems to harbour a resentment for her brother's new wife. But Crimson Peak has stories to tell, and Edith's unexplained connection to the spirit world means that she is frequently visited by hideous tormented ghosts carrying warnings. Back in the U.S., former suitor Dr. McMichael (Charlie Hunnam) is conducting his own research into the Sharpes and their shady history.
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