How ‘Crimson Peak’ Might Inform Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’

Guillermo del Toro is no stranger to sending audiences back in time with his films. The Devil’s Backbone (2001) takes place during the Spanish Civil War, while both Hellboy (2004) and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) are set during World War II—not to mention the '60s-set The Shape of Water (2017) and post-depression era Nightmare Alley (2021). But with the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein bearing down upon us, I can think of no better film to give us a peek into what we might see on screen than his 2015 Victorian-era ghost story, Crimson Peak.

Not only will Frankenstein be set in a similar period as Crimson Peak, but del Toro also brought back several key crew that helped make Crimson Peak such a visually impressive tale, including supervising art director Brandt Gordon, set decorator Shane Vieau, costume designer Kate Hawley, and of course, del Toro’s frequent cinematographer Dan Laustsen, who has shot each of del Toro’s live-action features since Crimson Peak.

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Starring Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, an aspiring author who has been having trouble finding a publisher willing to take a shot at her ghost story. Her widowed father (Jim Beaver) is a wealthy developer and shrewd businessman who is supportive of Edith’s dreams and a doting father, but seems to be more hopeful of matching his daughter up with Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), a family friend since childhood, than he is with her budding writing career. 

Mia Wasikowska as Edith in Crimson Peak.

When baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) arrives in town with his femme fatale sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) hoping to secure a loan from Mr. Cushing, though, Edith is quickly smitten. Before long, Edith and Thomas are married and she is whisked away to the Sharpes’ crumbling family estate atop a hill known to the locals as “Crimson Peak,” due to the high concentration of blood-red clay in the soil. Shortly after her arrival, Edith begins seeing phantoms in the corridors of Allerdale Hall. 

Allerdale, despite its neglected and rotting appearance, is a magnificent manor. Standing proudly at the peak of a barren hill, Allerdale Hall paints a striking silhouette. But on closer inspection, the mansion bears all the hallmarks of a squandered family fortune. A gaping hole in the foyer roof lets leaves and snow fall several stories to the floor. Damp walls ooze with liquified clay, like putrefied wounds, as the house slowly sinks, burying itself in the mines below. It gives every indication that the house will suffer the same fate as other classic Gothic palaces: Jane Eyre’s Thornfield Hall, Rebecca’s Manderley, Poe’s House of Usher. Like those infamous houses before it, Allerdale’s dilapidation is a reflection of the rot and decay within the Sharpe siblings, themselves, but it’s del Toro’s appreciation for the psychological symbolism that Gothic architecture allows for that has me thinking that Crimson Peak is the perfect blueprint for Frankenstein.

The ornately decorated walls of Allerdale’s rooms add to the overwhelming feeling that Edith is trapped in her new home. Beyond the hauntings she experiences, the cold shoulder of her sister-in-law and the curious absence of her husband each night compounds the loneliness Edith already feels after having been spirited off to a strange, new country, away from everything and everyone she knew. Spiked accents adorn the arches and pendant vaulting in her bedroom make it seem like the house is closing in on Edith, while doubled and tripled columns line the already narrow corridors, constricting her movement even further.

In the attic, Thomas’s workshop could be a clear precursor to Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. Enormous belts and pulleys line the walls and ceiling, while windows above and along the canted ceiling illuminate the space. Instead of a cadaver and test tubes, prototypes and gadgets are littered across the tables and shelves. Sir Thomas Sharpe’s obsession with engineering his way out of his family's dire situation is not far removed from Frankenstein's manic pursuit of mastery over life and death. 

When Frankenstein releases this winter, I hardly expect the wispy, corpse-like spirits or scandalous trysts taking place behind the closed doors of Allerdale Hall, but I would be surprised if we don't see del Toro taking inspiration from his own creation—one of the most impressive Gothic sets of the 21st century, and perhaps, of all time. Crimson Peak, now a decade old, is somehow still an underappreciated classic, but hardly anyone can argue against the incredible vision of its production design.

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Article by Ande Thomas

Ande loves the intersection of sci-fi and horror, where our understanding of the natural world clashes with our fear of the new and unknown. He is an independent member of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and a supporting member of the Horror Writers Association. He writes about monsters and foreign horror and can also be found over on Letterboxd.

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