Review: Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Crimson Peak’ Starring Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston And Jessica Chastain

In "Crimson Peak," Guillermo del Toro unifies his two primary impulses: toothy ghost story and oversized studio spectacle. The hallmarks of gothic romance provide a starting point, but del Toro makes this telling very much his own through splashy sensory overload. This grandiose film is visually and emotionally ripe, to the point that juices nearly sweat off the screen.

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The film itself states this is not a ghost story, but rather a story with ghosts in it. "Crimson Peak" is built on the bedrock of a Bronte-esque relationship, with the typical underlying hints of violence and treachery embellished and amplified. Ghosts emerge from beneath floors and stalk shadowy hallways, but the most dangerous creatures are the humans, who occasionally commit gaspingly intense bursts of violence. Never entirely satisfying as a drama, "Crimson Peak" is visually dazzling, boasting lively and at times even...