Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Guillermo del Toro
Produced by	Guillermo del Toro Callum Greene Jon Jashni Thomas Tull
Written by	Guillermo del Toro Matthew Robbins
Starring	Mia Wasikowska Tom Hiddleston Jessica Chastain Charlie Hunnam Jim Beaver
Music by	Fernando Velázquez
Cinematography	Dan Laustsen
Edited by	Bernat Vilaplana
Production company	Legendary Pictures DDY
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	October 16, 2015 (2015-10-16)
Country	United States
Language	English

Crimson Peak is an upcoming 2015 film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Matthew Robbins. The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver. It will be produced by Legendary Pictures^[1] and distributed by Universal Pictures.^[2] The film is scheduled to be released on October 16, 2015.^[3][4]

Synopsis

Set in Cumbria, in a crumbling mansion in a largely rural and mountainous region of northern England in the 19th century, young author Edith Cushing (Wasikowska) discovers that her charming new husband Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) is not who he appears to be.^[5]

Cast

• Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing
  • Sofia Wells as Young Edith^[6]
• Tom Hiddleston as Sir Thomas Sharpe, Edith's husband,^[2][7] a "charming hero with a mysterious past"^[8]
• Jessica Chastain as Lady Lucille Sharpe, Sir Thomas's sister^[9]
• Charlie Hunnam as Dr. Alan McMichael, a "quiet, shy, thoughtful kind of stoic, taciturn, very learned guy who is madly in love with the female hero"^[7]
• Jim Beaver as Carter Cushing, Edith's father^[10]
• Emily Coutts as Eunice McMichael
  • Matia Jackett as Young Eunice^[6]
• Leslie Hope as Mrs. McMichael, Alan's mother^[11]
• Burn Gorman as Holly^[12]
• Doug Jones^[13]
• Javier Botet^[14][13]
• Laura Waddell as Pamela Upton ^[15]
• Ron Bottitta as Voice Actor^[15]

Production

Pre-production

Guillermo del Toro at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con International promoting the film

Del Toro and Robbins wrote the original spec script after the release of Pan's Labyrinth in 2006. It was sold quietly to Donna Langley at Universal. Del Toro planned to direct the film, but postponed the project to make Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and again to work on The Hobbit films. Langley suggested that del Toro produce the film for another director, but he could not find one he deemed suitable. While directing Pacific Rim, del Toro developed a good working relationship with Legendary Pictures' Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, who asked what he wanted to do next. Del Toro sent them his screenplays for a film adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness, a Western adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, and Crimson Peak. The producers deemed the latter "the best project for us, just the right size". Universal allowed del Toro to move the project to Legendary, with the caveat that they could put up money for a stake in the film.^[16]

Del Toro called the film a "ghost story and gothic romance". He described it as "a very set-oriented, classical but at the same time modern take on the ghost story", and said that it would allow him to play with the genres' conventions while subverting their rules.^[16] He stated, "I think people are getting used to horror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets. I wanted this to feel like a throwback."^[17]

Del Toro wanted the film to honor the "grand dames" of the haunted house genre, namely Robert Wise's The Haunting and Jack Clayton's The Innocents. The director intended to make a large-scale horror film in the tradition of those he grew up watching, such as The Omen, The Exorcist, and The Shining. He cited the latter as "another Mount Everest of the haunted house movie", praising the high production value and Stanley Kubrick's control over the large sets.^[16]

British playwright Lucinda Coxon was enlisted to rewrite the script with del Toro in hopes of bringing it a "proper degree of perversity and intelligence", but is not credited.^[17]

Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Stone were originally cast but both dropped out of the production. Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska took over their roles respectively.^{[18][19][20][21]} The film is titled under production as Haunted Peak but Legendary Pictures assured that the film's title has not changed, the title is only the one being used for the studio booking.^[22] In the summer of 2013, Burn Gorman joined the cast for a cameo role.^[12]

In October 2013, Jessica Chastain went through a full-body cast process for the film. She posted pictures on her Facebook of her getting her head, torso, and fists cast.^[23][24] Composer Fernando Velázquez also signed on to compose the film's score.^[25] It was also announced that Callum Greene, Jon Jashni and Thomas Tull would help produce the film.^[26][27]

Filming

Principal photography began in Toronto at Pinewood Toronto Studios on February 10 and ended on May 14, 2014.^[28] On April 28, filming began on Queen Street South, between Main Street and King Street in Hamilton, Ontario. That section of roadway was closed to traffic and covered in topsoil to assist in the look of the setting. The gothic-looking Scottish Rite building to the west will figure prominently.^[29][1][30] Filming also took place in Kingston, Ontario on April 14, 2014.^[31] The film featured PJ Harvey's cover of "Red Right Hand".^[32]

Release

On January 30, 2014, it was announced that the film would be released on October 16, 2015.^[3]

Promotion

At the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 23, 2014, del Toro helped create props for the Legendary Pictures booth by allowing fans to walk through snow-covered gates, and a gallery of props from the set and costumes from the film, including a bloody knife and moth print in the wallpaper that spells out the word "fear".^[33][34] On February 13th, 2015, the first trailer for the film was released online. ^[35]

Reception

After attending an early screening, horror writer Stephen King called the film "gorgeous and just fucking terrifying", and said it "electrified" him like Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, whose distribution he helped secure with a rave review in 1982. King's son, writer Joe Hill, called Crimson Peak "del Toro's blood-soaked Age of Innocence, a gloriously sick waltz through Daphne du Maurier territory."^[36]

References

External links

• Crimson Peak at the Internet Movie Database