Ghosts are real. This much I know.

del Toro's Crimson Peak is a gothic romance steeped in tragedy. However, instead of the tragedy of war evident in Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone, del Toro weaves a story of a more intimate loss - of matricide, of the ravages of disease, and of murder.

But, what stands out in his journey to the eminently foreboding Crimson Peak is del Toro's willingness to tell a story not through dialogue, but through architecture, costumes, and the prickly Grimm mythology that suffuses the film. The dark, decay of the Old World creeps in as Edith is transplanted from the vivacious yellows of industrialized New York. Early on in the film, Ms. Edith Cushing, later Mrs. Edith Sharpe, asks Dr.McMichael about his collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories. It seems a passing remark, he's a doctor, he sniffs out disease much like the titular detective of Doyle's stories.

Yet, it is only much later, when Edith slinks around the decrepit halls that encircle Crimson Peak's wintry heart that we come to understand why the reference was brought up. Edith, in her sheer white robe is the youthful, pure detective princess. She is the Snow White taking her poisonous apple in sips, not crunchy bites. And, much like the fairytale stories of yore, Edith is a young woman on the precipice of womanhood. This menarcheal passage seems to be the favorite topic of artists - perhaps to an obsessive degree - but, it pays Mr. del Toro dividends aesthetically. As Edith's pure white robe becomes muddied up by the sanguine clay that leaks from the walls like blood pouring forth from an open wound, we see a vivid image of female passage into womanhood.

And, in the tense and shrieking climax, Edith and Lucille clash, swiping at each other, knives brandished. They dance about in an oozing puddle of bloody clay corrupting the fresh white snow - perhaps del Toro's most striking image ever put to film. The corrupting force clashes with the corrupted. Of course, I find this trope problematic. Perhaps there's an argument to be made that Edith's transition into biological adulthood empowers her to seek the truth and save Dr. McMichael. But, still, the idea of sexual awakening corresponding to power and confidence is a bit annoying. Regardless, Crimson Peak is impeccably dressed, well paced, and lit to utter perfection. I give it a 4.5/5.