Crimson Peak Monologue

Crimson Peak, released in 2015 and directed by Guillermo del Toro, opens with a monologue by the film’s protagonist, Edith Cushing. This monologue continues for four minutes, encompassing a flashback which includes events of Edith’s childhood. Her dialogue introduces ghosts into the story and establishes many of the film’s most prevalent trends. During a flashback to her childhood, Edith’s mother comes to her in the form of a ghost. The syuzhet in this opening scene presents ghosts as terrifying and unwanted antagonists that exist to terrorize the hapless Edith. The film’s primary twist is that the ghosts are actually there not to terrorize Edith, but rather to save her from doom. Horrifying sound effects and music correlate with one another

throughout the film to make the appearances of the ghosts as scary as possible, making it seem unlikely that they are there to help. Dialogue of the characters is the primary way the syuzhet reveals crucial fabula secrets. Several of these secrets also work to reverse the initial impression that the ghosts are evil. In Crimson Peak, these sounds work to forge and then dismantle hypotheses surrounding the primary characters and the ghosts which haunt Edith. The sounds dictate the rhythm of the film, creating a stream of minor twists and then one major twist at the end. The syuzhet uses sound in this manner to ensure continual suspense and surprise within the film.
The introductory sequence in Crimson Peak establishes several significant trends of the syuzhet. For one, since this entire introductory scene is encompassed by one extended monologue, it begins the trend of using dialogue to give fabula information. Throughout the film, the syuzhet reveals all the biggest twists directly through the dialogue of the characters. Due to the immense amount of twists, revealing each individual one clearly in dialogue lessens the chance of confusion. The first appearance of a ghost also occurs in this opening scene. Edith’s mother comes to Edith at night, and whispers to her: “Beware the Crimson Peak.” The ghost emits hair-raising noises and even gives the film’s first jump scare. These attributes of the ghost make it seem to be the dangerous antagonist of the film. The ghost comes into the room uninvited and gives Edith a fright. The syuzhet surrounds the ghosts with terrifying sound effects and music to suggest that they are going to be the primary obstacle to Edith in the film. The music that accompanies the appearance of this first ghost is the first of many uses of anempathetic music in the film. In fact, this first jump scare, as well as many that follow, arises solely by the increased loudness of the music. Listening on mute, the scene is still scary, but would certainly not create a startling moment. Sound effects like breathing and whimpering also get their first usage in this scene. Throughout the film, the syuzhet utilizes all this sort of sound effect to amplify the horror, especially within the Allerdale Hall setting. Each of these types of sounds begin to forge expectations early in the film. In the end, these expectations get dismantled in a series of twists as the plot progresses.
Dialogue is the central sound strategy of the syuzhet to release fabula information, revealing the major twists throughout the film. The film relies on direct usage of dialogue to set up and then reveal important information rather than by any less direct means. This trend commences with the opening monologue but then continues for the rest of the film. For example, early in the film after Thomas dances with Edith, Lucille says to him, “I don’t think she’s the right choice. She’s too young.” This is the first hint that Thomas and Lucille are up to something suspicious. Later, upon arriving to Allerdale Hall, Finlay converses with Thomas and says, “You’ve been married for a while.” This is the first hint that Thomas has married before. As Thomas begins to fall in love with Edith, he says, “You’re so different. From everyone.” This is another subtle cue that he married multiple times before. The first twist comes in dialogue, when Holly tells Alan McMichael: “Sir Thomas is already married.” Then multiple twists come through the recordings Edith finds in the linen closet. When Alan comes to rescue Edith, he tells her directly that “Lady Beatrice Sharpe was murdered.” By the end of the film, when the syuzhet makes it clear that the ghosts were actually helping Edith, their dialogue can be re-understood. The ghosts who repeatedly told Edith to “leave here now,” were not just saying that as a threat, but as legitimate advice. As the film closes, Lucille reveals to Edith all her and Thomas’s evil plans in one long monologue. Instead of using imagery or other more convoluted methods, the syuzhet hints at and then reveals fabula secrets through plain dialogue. This method reduces possible misunderstandings in solving the highly complex story. Dialogue is not just used to reveal major twists, but also to prompt hypotheses of the events of the film.
The syuzhet uses dialogue to establish the characters personalities and set up expectations for the film’s plot.

Edith’s dialogue reveals her personality and character traits early on. While on her way to get her book published, Edith runs into some upper-class women. They ridicule her for being an author, a generally low-paying profession. They compare her to Jane Austen, who they acknowledge died a spinster. In response, Edith states, “I would prefer to be Mary Shelley. She died a widow.” By the conclusion of the film, Edith is a widow. Edith reveals the film’s conclusion while exposing her own feisty personality. Afterward, in one extended bit of dialogue, Edith hints at more of the film’s future content. She explains that it’s not a ghost story, but rather “a story with a ghost in it.” She states, “The ghost is just a metaphor. For the past.” This scene, coming after the first appearance of a ghost, prompts expectations for what the rest of the film will involve. Also in the beginning of the film, both Thomas and Lucille say, “I insist” to Edith at some point. “Insist” sounds similar to “incest.” Initially this is subtle, but at the end of the film, after the syuzhet reveals their incestuous relationship, Alan says to Lucille’s face that he “insists” Edith go to a hospital. Here, “insist” is nearly indistinguishable from “incest,” and the world play is obvious with the revelation of their relationship. This is just another small cue the syuzhet provides to set up Thomas

and Lucille’s personalities and piece together the fabula. Dialogue again plays a major role in forging hypotheses of the film’s contents. Dialogue is the primary key in forging and then dismantling hypotheses of the characters in the film. However, other types of sound also play a prominent role in achieving this effect.
The music and sound effects that accompany each appearance of a ghost works to heighten the fear and wrongful distrust associated with them. The ghosts find themselves stuck in a painfully ironic situation. They desperately need to communicate with Edith, but are so horrifying in sound and appearance that Edith goes to great lengths to avoid them. The film uses a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds surrounding the ghosts to further amplify this horror. In the film world, the ghosts emit shrieks and moans with each appearance they make. In addition, they tend to talk in a creepy whisper, as if they are in too much pain to raise their voices. Outside of the film world, anempathetic music makes casual movements by the ghosts all the more unnerving. There are several jump scares in which nothing frightening happens on screen. For example, in one jump scare, a ghost in a bathtub just subtly moves a little bit, but since the music becomes loud, it is startling. Without music, this scene would still be a little creepy, but would not cause any jump. The syuzhet uses these sounds to instill a sense of fear whenever the ghosts appear. By framing them in such a creepy fashion, the syuzhet creates a sense of terror and distrust amongst the ghosts. By maintaining a low degree of communicativeness, the syuzhet sets up a more shocking twist in the end when it reveals that the ghosts are actually attempting to assist Edith. However, the noises involving the ghosts are not the only sounds that add to the horror of the film.
The sounds of the home the ghosts inhabit are the main factors maintaining a nonstop feel of suspense within the film.

By the time Edith arrives to Allerdale Hall, the syuzhet has already established a feeling of unease, as if something suspicious is going on. The sounds the house makes and the words the character’s use to describe the house amplifies these suspicions. One of the first things Thomas says at the house increases this fear: “There’s no other house for miles. And the town’s half a day’s walk away.” Immediately a sense of isolation emerges. Later, Thomas and Lucille tell Edith more of the house’s flaws. The house is always open to the outside since there is a massive hole in the roof. This creates perpetual wind noises, as if the house is breathing. Furthermore, the floor of the house regularly creaks since it lays over a clay mine and is always sinking down further into the earth. The wind and the creaking produces an uninterrupted off-screen noise ongoing in almost every scene in the house. Furthermore, it rains and snows all the time on their property, creating steady ambient background noise for many scenes. With so many problems, the film begs the question: why do they live here? The characters never provide a convincing answer. Since a majority of the film takes place in this eerie setting, there is an ever-present feeling of suspense. Surprises frequently follow the more intense periods of suspense, usually in the form of a sudden appearance of a ghost.

This suspense is crucial in forging the tone necessary for a horror film. In addition, the suspense augments the distrust of the characters surrounding Edith, especially the ghosts. Sounds serve many purposes in the film other than for the reveal of information or the creation of suspense.
The syuzhet uses sound motifs to create a rhythm which organizes and clarifies the constant stream of cues and prompts it provides about the film’s primary enigmas. In such a complex story, the syuzhet assists in the construction of the fabula amidst what is at times an overwhelming amount of information. There is a general pattern in the events which lead up to a jump scare, primarily involving the gradual decrease in sound. First, the music slowly fades out. Then, every small sound effect, breathing, moaning, wind, footsteps, and the creaking of the floor, become louder. Next, just a moment before the scare, the sound disappears entirely. There is then an immediate spike in the music’s volume when a ghost moves or appears. The silence leading up to the jump creates an unbearable suspense and tension. In addition to the ghosts, other characters have unique sound motifs. For example, Lucille’s character is associated with the piano. In her first scene she plays piano, and has many scene of dialogue with Edith in which she plays piano. The piano music that follows her character enhances the organization of her scenes. Also, the same buzzing and crunching sound effects accompany the numerous types of insects in the film. These work to organize the theme of death and survival of the fittest. Many scenes are paced by the music, both diegetic and non-diegetic. In the waltz scene, with diegetic music, Thomas and Edith first begin to fall for one another. Later, in the scenes that focus on romance more than horror, accompanying non-diegetic music, usually in the form of violins and pianos, plays in the background. These certain patterns help organize the many of the characters and events in the film.