2015
Mia Wasikowska as Edith
Jessica Chastain as Lucille
Tom Hiddleston as Thomas
Directed, co-produced and co-written by Guillermo del Toro
Thomas Sharpe, a Brit with a stuck-up sister, comes to America, hoping to find an investor for his newest project. He finds the Cushings, marries the daughter, and when the dad dies, takes his bride and all of the Cushing money back to England. Turns out, sister Sharpe REALLY wants the money. She does lots of things to get it. To lots of people. In the creepiest possible house ever created by a production team.
Excellent.
I love it when production elements become part of the story. The Conjuring, anyone? The house is as much a character as the human beings in the cast.
What else made this a great show?
- Del Toro’s ability to find humor in basically any situation. I hope he laughed at the parts I laughed at, otherwise I’ll feel like a schmuck. But seriously. The man can be tongue-in-cheek and let his movies laugh at themselves. See Pacific Rim. I think the intended humor makes them that much more fun!
- Mia Wasikowska/Edith Cushing. What a fabulous, strong character. Plus she’s a writer. I totally get her. Big fan. The hairdos and glasses leave a bit to be desired, though. Think late 19th century one-room-school marm.
- The ghosts/entities/sounds/etc. all trapped inside the Sharpe home. There’s some seriously messed up stuff going on in there. Maybe fix the foundation? I don’t know. Because EW.
Scream meter: 5/10 There’s a LOT going on in this movie. I was relatively jumpy. And I laughed a lot. Because I laugh when I’m scared. LO freaking L. I probably would have rated it higher, but I went through the maze at HHN this year, so I spent a lot of time looking at the sets instead of what was going on. OOOH! We walked through that hallway! Yay Murdy! Oh—wait—this is a scary movie. Pay attention. Yeah, I’m basically a puppy.
Buddy meter: 5/10 Having a partner to discuss this movie with is really important. I tried to, but my friend hadn’t seen it yet. So I felt like every single word I said was a spoiler. Take your friend with you. Trust me. (There’s a British bum in it. If you’re looking for a carrot.)
Overall Rating: 8/10 I’ve seen better, but not many. Thank you.