Crimson Peak-Scene Analysis

In this essay I will be analysing a scene in the 2015 movie 'Crimson Peak' by Guillermo del Toro. In the scene I have been given, the character Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) has been awoken in the dead of night to be attacked by a 'monster'.

In the beginning of the scene the protagonist (who is portrayed by Mia Wasikowska) is disturbed in her sleep because of stomach pain and her dog is barking and as she gets out of bed the lighting changes from low-key lighting to side lighting to suggest that there could be something hiding in the shadows and the camera then tracks the woman as she searches the corridors, the way the camera tracks her creates the effect that she is being followed by something unknown.

At the first look of the scene, the mise-en-scene is used to give you a visual sense of when this film is set (early 1900's) because the costume that Mia Wasikowska's character is wearing is very dated and she uses a candelabra to light her way which shows that technology has not evolved enough yet, also the setting is used to convey the genre of the film by the candles and the style of the background (Gothic mansion) and as the scene goes on the horror genre is further solidified by the 'monster' that appears, with its red skin and burnt looking appearance.

Special effects are also used in the film to make the monster appear more realistic as to make it fit in to the real world without looking fake. As the protagonist moves into another corridor, ash appears floating down from the sky which could be symbolising death all around or could be foreshadowing doom to come. Throughout the scene close-up shots are used to show the ever-evolving emotions of the protagonist and you cannot see or know what is going on in the background also throughout the whole scene the camera mostly stays at eye level with Mia Wasikowska's character to make the audience seem more involved in the film and they feel more of a connection to the actors and want them to succeed.

As the scene moves on you see what looks like a window, the outside appears glowing with a red glow which could be symbolising danger (red=danger, blood, etc.) or could be a foreboding for what is to come because the light is red and the monster is also red. Towards the end of the scene the protagonist descends into an underground 'lair' where a wide shot is used to establish the room as having sinister undertones because as she gets down there the music changes to being ominous.

The interior design on the set of the mansion has a high Gothic aesthetic

In conclusion, this film is a perfect example of a film in the horror genre because it incorporates a lot of the mise-en-scene of a horror movie (the darkness, the candles, the monster, the period costumes, etc.), also another way that it is obviously a horror film is the sounds because as the monster appears the sound become highly distorted as if when the monster appears you are supposed to question if reality is real when the monster is present.