Crimson Peak Research

For one of the films I decided to research, I chose Crimson Peak. I'm a big fan of Guillermo del Toro's work, and Crimson Peak is similar to the type of film that I and my partner plan on making.

Firstly, in terms of the production credits at the beginning of the film. Both the Universal and the Legendary logos have changed to be in-keeping with the film. Red is a very significant colour in the film, and so both logos are indeed red. There is eerie music playing at the beginning of the universal logo, and then when the legendary logo comes on, there is this odd rhythmic sound. Because the beginning of Crimson Peak links with the end, this sound becomes familiar to us as we become aware that this is the sound of Thomas Sharpe's machine, which plays an important sound later on. Because it's at the beginning, we will be able to recognise it later on, and it subconsciously tells the viewer that this machine has an important role in the film.

This then fades out to white. The character Edith is distinctly dressed in white in this scene. She has very fair hair and pale skin. We would link this distinct lightness and the pale colours with purity and innocence - she is instinctively recognisable as the protagonist of this film. The shot begins as a mid-shot, but slowly zooms in to be a close-up, so that we can focus on Edith's face. She is crying, and clearly injured which shows us that something traumatic has happened, and already sets the tone of the film. She is also mostly in white, but she has blood splattered over her, and a wound on her cheek, and this sticks out in the mostly white scene. This red is also significant because the colour crimson is referenced in the title of the film. The beginning also has just the sound of the breathing, and the machine. There isn't a lot of noise, and the beginning noise is digetic, so you don't think much about it. Edith's narration then begins, and with her voice comes music slowly fading in. This shot ends with a single tear rolling down Edith's face, showing once again her sadness at this point in the film. This shot then slowly fades out - this part of the film is slow, not dramatic, so it is edited fairly slowly.

It then fades into an aerial shot of a coffin being carried in the snow. This snow connects to the first scene because that shot is also filmed in snow. However, there is no red in this scene, only black and white. The sound is all non-digetic, with Edith's slow voice over, which sets the sombre tone for this scene. There is also sad music, which also builds tension in this section.

Edith as a child is highlighted here through the halo of her signature white around her hat. This is a wide shot, showing several of the other characters that we will be reintroduced to later, such as Edith's father. There are a lot of people at the funeral, all wearing very fine clothes which shows that the Cushing family is very well off. Edith's mother's grave is also very grand which once again shows their wealth. The costumes also show that this is a period film. Edith also says in the narration that her mother died from Black Cholera - which was an epidemic in the 1800-1900s. This scene ends with a slow zoom in to her mother's grave, with the priest in the bottom section of the shot. Edith is also talking about the death of her mother, and the shock of the separation in the narration. Some digetic sound is also introduced, with the feint sound of the priest delivering the sermon, although it is barely heard underneath the music, and Edith's voice.

The next transition between scenes is fairly unusual in modern film. There is a slow fade out in a circle to black, and the last thing we see in this shot is young Edith's left eye - which is also the eye we were focused on in the first shot, because of the single tear. However this fade to black also corresponds with the next scene. The music gets louder before suddenly disappearing for the next scene - which raises the tension and gives us an uneasy feeling. Edith's narration also makes us feel slightly scared because her last sentence is "That is, until she came back." This tells us what the next scene is going to be about, and we are able to prepare ourselves for it somewhat.

The next section has barely any music. The beginning of it opens with the sound of the storm, the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway, and Edith's gentle sobbing. This scene opens in a wide shot, showing us Edith's room. Only one lamp is lit, so the edges of the shot are dark, drawing our attention to Edith, who is in the most well-lit part of the room. She is in her signature colour of white again, with the addition of the black mourning band around the arm of her night gown. This night gown is also similar to the one Edith ends up wearing the majority of the second part of the film, with the puffed up sleeves and high collar, which allows us to link Edith somewhat with childhood. The lighting outside the window from the storm also creates long, eerie shadows across the room, which automatically unnerve the audience because of the dark.

The camera slowly zooms in towards Edith on the bed, and as she turns around the camera follows her, so we can focus on her face and the hallway behind her, leading the eye to wear the action will happen next. Around Edith the house is creaking and moaning from the wind- but it also sounds distinctively human as well, which will unnerve the audience. At this point we have become accustomed to the sounds around Edith. But then the grandfather clock stops. Although we may have stopped recognising the ticking of the clock, we definitely notice it's gone, and the tension picks up. Edith's eyes also shift around, and she looks nervous which then in turn makes us feel nervous. There is more creaking from the house- and it sounds like stairs. Edith clearly recognises this, as she turns and sits up, to watch the corridor. The camera follows her, focusing on the hallway. This is when we begin to see the shadows of the fingers of someone approaching down the corridors. The fingers are elongated and bony, and are moving in a way that doesn't reflect human movement. There is now the sound of the clock chiming, and the sound of slow, rasping breathing that doesn't seem to be Edith's. This is when the figure of a woman in black steps out from the end of the corridor. Moving her hands in front of her in an odd and unnerving way. She is silhouetted because of the lack of light in this scene and this makes her seem more unreal. There is also high pitched music which then starts playing as the woman stops at the end of the corridor, which adds tension to this scene. There is a close up of Edith as she watches the figure in disbelief. There is such a difference between Edith in white and the ghost in black. The camera follows the ghost as it floats down the corridor - this also adds to the inhuman way it moves. It's also slightly transparent, and very skeletal. It's clearly moving towards Edith, and we as an audience feel scared for the young girl. It then goes back to a very similar shot as we had earlier, where the focus is both on Edith and the corridor behind her, although this time we're focusing on Edith as she's hunched up in fear and the sheer blackness behind her, and we're filled with inevitable dread.

Even though we expect the contact between the ghost and Edith, the addition of sudden, clashing music at the point of touch makes us jump. The fingers, although humanoid, are too long to be human and her black themselves. As we know that this is the ghost of Edith's mother, the overall darkness of the ghost and her hands links to the fact that she died of black cholera. The colours in this film all link together, and the ghosts are no exception - especially as the ghosts Edith sees later in Alledale Hall, as these are all red to reflect the clay the bodies were dumped in. There is then an aerial shot over Edith's bed, which shows the ghost climbing into bed with her, and shows the difference in the light and dark of this scene, between the dead mother and her living daughter. It also shows the jerky, sudden movements of the ghost as it moves, adding more to the unnaturalness of it.

The ghosts voice is echo-y and hoarse, which gives off the impression of sickness which we know Mrs Cushing died from. The way the ghost talks, addressing Edith as "my child", and the gentle hold it has on the girl are very maternal, but because of the horrific nature of the ghost, we see these actions as grotesque. The juxtaposition of the mothering and the horrible create a very uneasy feeling for the viewer. We cal also only slightly see through the darkness of the veil the ghost wears, the skull underneath.

The words the ghost speaks are reminiscent because of the title of the film, as she tells Edith to "beware of Crimson Peak". This also fills us with dread as we know that Edith is going to be put into a dangerous situation to do with those words. This helps when later on, Thomas casually mentions "Crimson Peak" as a saying at Allerdale Hall, and it shows the turning point of the film where we know Edith is in danger.

Thee music builds at this point to a clashing, high-pitched sound, which really builds up the tension in the section, as Edith sits up in bed, screaming. The music leaves, and we are left with only the digetic noises of the house around her. The ghost is gone. The room is not as dark again, and Edith is alone. There is a wide shot as Edith gets out of bed, and the brightness of her room is framed by the dark corridor. The viewer is relieved by this, however as Edith is no longer in danger from the ghost. The same music from the funeral scene returns, and so does Edith's voice over. Young Edith walks down the corridor, and notices moths by the light. These moths are very symbolic as they are a constant thing throughout the film- the moths at Allerdale Hall, the moth broach Edith wears, and even the butterflies that Lucille and Edith watch die. These moths, being drawn towards the light could also even be symbolism for Edith herself, being drawn towards something dangerous. The scene then closes to the opening credits - the opening of a book. This also links to the ending section once more, where it is revealed this story with Edith's narration was then turned into a book by her. The opening to Crimson Peak is very atmospheric and does a good job for putting the audience on the edge of their seat, uneasy about what is to come for the rest of the film.