Well, now we know what film Guillermo del Toro was referring to when he reflected on his movies being “hobbled” at the box office by bad studio marketing.
After del Toro tweeted that in his 30-year career, he has had “three wonderful films hampered and hobbled by misguided marketing,” it turns out that “Crimson Peak” is one of them. (The other del Toro has publicly said is his 2012 animated film “Rise of the Guardians.”)
Now, del Toro is reflecting on the legacy of his 2015 Gothic romance film “Crimson Peak” to Vulture. The feature starred Mia Wasikowska as the new bride of a mysterious, wealthy recluse (Tom Hiddleston) whose sister (Jessica Chastain) has sinister intentions. Charlie Hunnam also starred.
Del Toro admitted that the film, despite its buzzy cast, was “doomed” at the box office due to its wrongful marketing label of being a horror movie.
“The thing that will always, pun intended, haunt that movie is that it was sold as a horror movie,” del Toro said. “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!”
He continued, “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.”
However, “Crimson Peak” still later found its right audience.
“But, you know, it’s a movie that connects with the people who love it at an almost molecular level. Little by little, some movies gather their audience through the years,” del Toro said. “Some others are very successful right when they come out, then you don’t hear from them again. We can have every variation. I’m finding that I’m happier when I’m in a relationship with people who truly find a movie and own it.”
Del Toro admitted that at the time of its release, “Crimson Peak” was one of the few Gothic genre films out in years.
“Gothic was, back then, an almost forgotten genre. I don’t know — when was the last time before that had Hollywood produced a Gothic romance? Decades?” del Toro said. “I knew I wanted to produce a lavish, beautiful, operatic spectacle, with sets and melodrama and beautiful light and, you know, just make it make it a sort of banquet.”
He added, “What I was trying to do with ‘Crimson Peak’ was what I’ve tried to do in many of my movies: make an action movie that operates as an anti-action movie or, in the case of ‘Crimson Peak,’ a Gothic romance that diffuses the romance — you know, like at the moment when Tom Hiddleston is not revealed to be innocent. He did try to poison her. He did lie to her. He was going to kill her. But he loves her! He’s not like, ‘I didn’t do it! I was innocent!’ He’s not purged. Mia Wasikowska’s character has fallen in love with him because she doesn’t know him, but then when she knows him, in all his gloriously horrible nature, she still loves him.”
And del Toro even pointed to another, more recently misunderstood film, “Civil War.”
“Now I’m thinking about seeing ‘Civil War,’ the Alex Garland movie, getting misinterpreted, even after its characters clearly stated the mission of the movie— ‘We don’t sanction, we don’t qualify, we just show,’ right? That’s basically the definition of Garland’s movie!” del Toro said. “Well, I tried the same thing in ‘Crimson Peak’ by having a character actually saying, ‘It’s not a ghost story, it’s a story with a ghost in it.’ The movie itself was trying to give clues about what it was! And, having done a movie before that used a ghost in a similar manner — ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ — I foolishly thought that my intentions would have been clear.”
The auteur concluded, “But you know, it’s OK! You recuperate from it. And that is one of the movies I love the most and that is very close to my heart.”
