Adaptaion Film：Crimson Peak Communications & Media Essay

Adaptation Film: Crimson Peak
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Adaptation Film: Crimson Peak
Overview of the Movie and Novel
The Crimson Peak is a movie that fascinates while also leaving one with a lot of questions. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the film takes one on a journey of gothic fiction. One major issue that one notices while watching the film is that it is not a typical 21st-century horror film even though many would categorize it as such. del Toro sought to make a masterpiece that was visually unique and he did manage to achieve that with this film. Kindinger (2017) notes that Crimson Peak “displays del Toro’s unique style, his vision of movies as ‘durchkonzipierte und bis ins letzte Detail kontrollierte Gesamtkunstwerk [conceptualised and detailed, total works of art].” Gesamtkunstwerk is defined by dictionary.com as “total artwork; an artistic creation, as the music dramas of Richard Wagner, that synthesizes the elements of music drama, spectacle, dance, etc.” In other words, when something is said to be Gesamtkunstwerk to encompass instances of Gesamtkunstwerk, it often denotes pieces of art that are all-embracing or involving of all the pieces of art. So, in Crimson Peak, del Toro tries to combine instances of art that gift the movie life. First of all, the movie as indicated by Lawley (2015) “has all the elements of gothic fiction: the crumbling mansion that seems to be alive itself, ghostly encounters, tyrannical villains, and the feeling of fear.”
Aside from the above, one cannot fail to notice the cinematography in the film as well. Visually, the movie does hit all the right keys and this makes one appreciative of the director’s daring moves. Often, films thought to be of the same genre abandon color and make use of dark themes to help set the mood for a horror film. However, del Toro ignores this cliché and uses bright colors throughout the film. Visually, the movie is indeed interesting. The characters also did put on a great show thus completing the film’s Gesamtkunstwerk goal. Combining all these attributes and features did prove to be a successful venture as it offered the film a touch that was holistic.
As an author, Poe never had any success, and he even died young and poor. However, one thing that made him stand out was the fact that he was an author. His works may not have had or received or propelled him forward in life. However, today, his works are revered and have been adapted to several movies thus far. The Fall of the House of Usher is one such book that del Toro found enticing enough to borrow ideas and even adapt it into his movie. Like the movie, the book also includes instances of isolation, gothic fiction, elements of horror stories, and family. Poe had a troubled life and many attributes his horror stories to the books he wrote. The Fall of the House of Usher was a dark novel but a masterpiece nonetheless. The next section delves deeper and offers an explanation as to why Crimson Peak was influenced by The Fall of the House of Usher.
The film and Poe’s Novel
There is no doubt that Crimson Peak is not an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. However, the novel is a major influence on the film in various ways. Firstly, del Toro indicates that Poe was his favorite writer as a kid. He demonstrates that the novel was one of the beautiful tales that influenced him as a child. As such, del Toro borrows heavily from the novel to create the movie.
The film centers on gothic romance which is a major theme in Poe’s novel. In the film, del Toro seeks to capture the dark spirit of gothic romance, which forms a large portion of Poe’s work. In the film, del Toro mixes both darkness and beauty to bring about a classic gothic romance. Following the footsteps of Poe’s novel, del Toro ensures that the piece is not exclusively a horror film. In this regard, del Toro makes use of Poe’s novel to ensure that the film is suitable for the modern audience. A majority of the people may not identify with the gothic romance in Poe’s novel. However, del Toro updates Poe’s work to make it fit for the modern viewer. Here, he tells a bloodier as well as a sexier story to appeal to the target audience. Instead of concentrating on purely the bloodier aspects depicted in the novel, del Toro goes ahead and includes some romantic aspects. For instance, the film centers around characters who are involved in romantic relationships. These included Edith and Thomas, then Thomas and his sister Lucile. The inclusion of romance makes the film suitable for modern viewers who may not identify exclusively with a horror narrative. At the same time, the use of romance in the film builds on the theme of romance common in gothic romantic stories like Poe’s novel.
Moreover, del Toro borrows the ending of Poe’s short story. In Poe’s novel, the house eventually falls apart and sinks. Here, the Ushers are last in the family lineage. The sickness and death of both Roderick and Madeline signify the end of the Usher lineage. Del Toro uses the same concept to demonstrate a house that is slowly skinning into the bright clay. The red color of the clay gives the impression of a house that is slowly bleeding and sinking.
Del Toro departs from the usual position of females in gothic romantic stories like Poe’s novel. In gothic romance novels, females end up being helpless beings in danger. Male characters are used to rescue the females from the apparent danger. However, del Toro seeks to depart from this notion and presents females as equally powerful. In this regard, he deliberately makes the movie to be female-centric. For instance, Fabio does not save Edith as one would expect in a normal gothic romance. Instead, for the most part of the film, the plot is driven more by two female characters.
While Crimson Peak is purely the creation of both del Toro and Matthew Robbins, it remains reminiscent of Poe’s short...