Co-written by Del Toro and Matthew Robbins (Mimic), Crimson Peak stars Mia Wasikowska (Stoker, Alice in Wonderland) as a young author in 19th century northern England who is torn between her love for a lifelong friend, played by Pacific Rim and Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam, and an enigmatic outsider played by Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, Only Lovers Left Alive). After opting for a relationship with the latter, she finds herself swept off to his family’s gothic mansion in Cumbria — a house that she soon discovers is filled with terrifying secrets and supernatural dangers.
The film also stars Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Supernatural actor Jim Beaver, as well as Torchwood actor Burn Gorman, 24 actress Leslie Hope, and one of Del Toro’s favorite creature actors, Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy).
Del Toro has cited large-scale, classic horror movies such as The Omen, The Exorcist, and The Shining as his inspiration for Crimson Peak, describing the film as a set-based “ghost story and gothic romance.”
“I think people are getting used to horror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets,” said Del Toro of the concept for the movie in a 2013 interview with Total Film. “I wanted this to feel like a throwback.”
Originally scheduled to hit theaters late last year but pushed back to allow for a pre-Halloween premiere, Crimson Peak is now scheduled to arrive in both standard and IMAX theaters October 16.
