I just don't get it. I tried really hard.

When this came out in theaters in 2015, I was super hyped for it. The trailers sold me and I went in with high expectations. I walked out immensely disappointed; I found I didn't care for this at all. My problems with the film back then stemmed from a few things: my unfamiliarity with Guillermo del Toro (this was the first ever film of his I saw), the way this was marketed as a horror film but it's more a gothic romance with horror elements, the slow burn of the story, and the rather disappointing ending. (I also left the theater, which was closing by that time, to realize that I had accidentally locked my keys in my car and had to wait outside in the cold for over an hour for a tow truck to come and break into my car for me, but that's not the film's fault.)

Today, I'm more familiar with del Toro's style and work, as well as just being more familiar with cinema history in general. So I went into this revisit fully expecting to love it. Instead, I found that I only just barely liked it more than on my first visit. It's absolutely gorgeous to look at – stunningly good visuals and production design. Not a single complaint in that department (well, except for whatever the hell they did to Mia Wasikowska's hair, yeesh). But aside from that gothic beauty? I found this to be nonsensical, lifeless, and dull. I know I'm in the minority here, so please remember this is only my opinion and I admitted up top that I just "don't get it" rather than believing this is an objectively bad film.

Let's start with the supernatural aspect here. It's incredibly undercooked. Right off the bat, Edith is visited by the spirit of her dead mother, who instead of calmly and lovingly passing her message, she acts in the most creepy and frightening way she possibly could. Why jump scare your daughter and fill her with fright before communicating a message to her? How does the spirit of her mother even know about Crimson Peak in the first place? Can spirits see into the future, or did Edith's mother have a communion with the spirits of Crimson Peak? Later, once Edith is in the home, every spirit there acts in a frightening manner as well despite the fact that they are ostensibly trying to help her. I just don't get it. To me it feels shallow to include ghosts in your film who act spooky for the audience, but in ways that contradict the very narrative they belong in.

I also find the characters to be dreadfully shallow, lifeless, and one-dimensional. Edith is a headstrong writer, naïve in the ways of the world. Thomas is an attractive yet gullible heir to a ruined legacy, being manipulated by his sister. Lucille is a crazy bitch who seems to have inherited her mother's madness. Dr. Alan is the worst of all, featuring Charlie Hunnam doing a baffling accent and being incredibly useless to the story. You could remove him from this film entirely and virtually nothing would have changed.

By the time this story gets interesting, I've long stopped caring. I'll admit, I find the third act a little thrilling – everything after Edith discovers Lucille and Thomas being hot and heavy. The chase sequences, the brutal fights, the vicious way Lucille stabs Thomas in the face, the way Edith kills Lucille, the striking imagery of the blood-red clay seeping up through the snow... all of that is fine. Great, even! It's an exciting climax, but it's too little too late. Before that point, I am just bored or outright irritated at the characters and the ghosts and the lifelessness of it all. It just didn't click with me at all. I really, really wanted to like this, I tried hard to. I guess this one just wasn't made for me.

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Ranked: Guillermo del Toro Films