Review: The Shape of Water

Guillermo Del ToroÔÇÖs latest escapist fantasy tells a familiar fairytale of freak love between human and creature. However the director’s fastidious eye for the darkly fantastical, juxtaposed with an even darker reality, along with intelligent, era-specific social commentary which helps contextualise and ground its narrative, and nuanced, expertly written characters make this tale more akin to the esoteric lovechild of Amelie and Creature from the … Continue reading Review: The Shape of Water

Crimson Peak

The Horror of Love: On the Ghosts of Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak has what my old Film teacher would call a ÔÇÿcircular narrativeÔÇÖ, in which we follow an aspiring writer, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), trying to navigate the new, revolutionised world around her. ItÔÇÖs only until Baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) stain the gold-saturated world with their deep blacks, dark Hammer horror reds and ominous green/blue tones does Edith … Continue reading The Horror of Love: On the Ghosts of Crimson Peak