THE PEAK OF HORROR
Guillero del Toro’s latest, a crazy ex and Deerhunter headline the week
Here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week:
MOVIES Big Release on Oct. 16: Crimson Peak Big Picture: Crimson Peak is Wuthering Heights, only populated by more ghosts, blood and misanthropes. Mia Wasikowska plays Edith, a grieving young woman who marries a childhood friend, Sir Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), and moves to his family’s remote Gothic mansion in northern England — also inhabited by his creepy, jealous sister (Jessica Chastain). The Sharpe siblings are like a grown-up Hansel and Gretel — if the German duo had never seen sunlight, and had eaten the forest witch after they accidentally baked her. Edith isn’t the brightest heroine. Her first warning should have been the name of Sharpe’s estate. Mystery and madness ensue thanks to enough phantoms to make the Overlook Hotel seem like a ghost town. Edith is aided by a mysterious, hunky stranger. (Spoiler alert: My guess is he ends up being the Casper of this haunted house). The lesson, ladies? If your suitor lives in an isolated, rural mansion, just say no to the proposal. Marry the struggling actor and “sandwich artist” who lives with five roommates in a three-bedroom flat. Move in there. You’ll live longer. Forecast: Nobody gives life to ghouls and goblins better than writer-director Guillermo del Toro. Horror fans should colour themselves Crimson. Honourable Mention: Bridge of Spies. Just in time for Oscar season, Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks as James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer recruited by the CIA to defend a Soviet spy, and negotiate a highly sensitive Cold War prisoner swap. Only the fate of civilization hangs in the balance. But am I the only one who would have preferred Forrest Gump 2: Crimson Peak: “Mama always said haunted houses are like a box of chocolates, you never know what kind of gruesome death you’re gonna get.” TV Big Event: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Oct. 12, CW/Showcase) Big Picture: One of the most promising sitcoms of the year is a onehour musical comedy from the CW? Did you wake up in some kind of alternate universe? (Answer: Yes, you did. Have you seen Donald Trump’s latest poll numbers?) Rachel Bloom plays eccentric, lovelorn lawyer Rebecca Bunch — who still pines for her short-lived summer fling. A chance reunion with the muscular object of her youthful affections begins our trip to Crazytown. Or, to be exact, West Covina, Calif. — a bland suburb hours from the beach. Her man is moving there, so the impulsive Bunch quits her Manhattan office and follows suit. Of course, the sarcastic, wise bartender she meets upon arrival is already primed to be her true SoCal soulmate. (Damn it, did I spoil the inevitable plot of the season finale?) Forecast: “From the writer of The Devil Wears Prada and the director of (500) Days of Summer.” Normally I ignore these kind of “from the” promo combos, but this one sounds promising. (I’m still waiting for, “From the writers of Fast & Furious and the director of Lincoln” just to see what kind of magic Steven Spielberg could pull off with a script written by what I assume was a group of 13-year-old boys). Of course, for those who don’t want to go crazy, two of TV’s finest cable dramas return this week for second seasons: Fargo and The Knick. Honourable Mention: Truth Be Told (Oct. 16. NBC). NBC’s only new sitcom centres on two wacky, “wildly outspoken” couples who yap a lot about risqué things like “sex and race.” In the premiere, they unintentionally hire a babysitter who may have done porn. (Yawn. Subscribe to HBO.) Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tone Bell and Bresha Webb star. The fourth member of their quartet is replaced after the pilot, so don’t get too attached; the network may not even be hoping this one gets saved by the bell. (Speaking of, I’ve always wanted to build a time machine to go back and replace David Schwimmer with Steve Buscemi after the pilot of Friends. Totally different series.) MUSIC Big Releases on Oct. 16: Deerhunter (Fading Frontier); Josh Ritter (Sermon on the Rocks) Big Picture: Sadly, they aren’t fronted by Christopher Walken. But Atlanta’s Deerhunter always seem to be exploring new sonic frontiers, and hunting a new indie rock sound. With songwriter Bradford Cox playing mad musical scientist, their psychedelic experiments remain grounded in addictive melodies and shimmering guitars. Meanwhile, Josh Ritter proves he’s one of today’s most ambitious, complex songwriters, while adding just enough pop accessibility for a climb up the Billboard charts. Of his new effort, Ritter says, “I wanted to play messianic oracular honky-tonk.” (It’s the album I’ve always been waiting for.) Forecast: Deerhunter is doing anything but fading; Ritter’s Sermon is worth the listen. (Want another sign to back up my alt universe theory? This week also marks the hotly anticipated debut of Pentatonix, which sounds like a cult, but happens to be a buzz-worthy Texas a cappella quartet. Remember when that used to be called a Barbershop?) Honourable Mention: The Twilight Sad (Oran Mor Session). I thought this was an emo band fronted by vampire Edward Cullen. Turns out its Scottish indie-punk, so buyer beware.