By Guillermo del Toro’s 2015 feature “Crimson Peak” isn’t seen as his finest hour. Grossing $75 million from a $57 million budget, and scoring good but not great reviews, it is mostly viewed as a misfire upon release.
A big part of that, according to the filmmaker himself, is its marketing misrepresentation as a horror film. Del Toro’s movie is a gothic romance, one heavily influenced by works from Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca,” Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” and some of the darker elements of Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre”.
Intriguingly, “Crimson Peak” star Mia Wasikowska also appeared in Cary Fukunaga’s 2011 film adaptation of “Jane Eyre” which was similarly sold on a trailer that misrepresented that work as a horror film.
In a new interview with Vulture reflecting on the project, del Toro says the focus on horror by the marketing department doomed the film:
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.”
The film has seen its appreciation grow in the past near-decade since its release as people approach it from a different understanding, even so there’s plenty still with issues regarding its story and characters.
“Crimson Peak” is currently available on various VOD platforms.
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