Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Film Strip: Master of the Macabre and ‘Crimson Peak’ Says ‘Humans Are the Real Horrors’

Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing in CRIMSON PEAK.
Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing in CRIMSON PEAK.

Guillermo del Toro (“Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” “Pacific Rim,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Hellboy”), the master of macabre, is also known for giving females forceful roles in his films.

Catching up with him at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City, he was more than happy to talk about his latest film, “Crimson Peak.” del Toro describes “Crimson Peak” as a gothic romance. This gothic romance, however, does not leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling and aimed to scare audiences out of their wits.

Mindful of the stories he tells, del Toro always aims to make a point. The Film Strip asked him to respond the quote, “Humans are the real horrors”? Without hesitating, his emphatic response was, “Yes!” And he went on to explain:

“I think so because humans have the choice. I think there is no evil without choice. If you walk into a tiger’s cage, he doesn’t go, ‘oh, he’s a nice guy. He will eat you. A priest walks into the cage, he will eat him. If Mahatma Gandhi walks into the cage, he will eat him. He’s wired to do that.”

CRIMSON PEAK director Guillermo del Toro.
CRIMSON PEAK director Guillermo del Toro.

“But humans know the balance and make the choice. That’s the only way to have a moral weight on an issue is if you know the difference and you enact prejudice, brutality, then that’s evil. That’s the only way I understand evil. That’s, I think, why I love the monsters on ‘Pacific Rim,’ because they are not evil. They were built to do what they do. So I kind of love them like people love puppies.”

Mia Wasikowska Struggles to Prove Herself

Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is haunted by the ghosts of her past and cursed by the visions of her future. Even worse, she is a writer back in 1901 trying to make it in a man’s world that scoff at independent women. However, Edith falls prey to a habit that afflicts many women, even in the 21st century, and The Film Strip asked her about that.

Why is it, knowing the obvious outcome, do a lot of women fall for the bad boy?

MIA WASIKOWSKA: I guess it’s that terrible thing that most women do at least once where the mysterious person that you know less is more attractive for some reason than the kind of constant stable guy. But then there is something you learn about yourself even though you should learn before.

Syndicated Entertainment journalist Marie Moore reports on film and TV from her New York City base. Contact her at [email protected]

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

YOU MAY LIKE

SEARCH

- Advertisement -

TRENDING