Crimson Peak could spook China's censors
Crimson Peak, Guillermo del Toro’s gothic romance set in a mansion haunted by tortured souls, could spook Chinese censors into banning the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Crimson Peak review – evil springs from a psychosexually rich soil of horror
Read more
China’s censorship guidelines, handed down from the ruling Communist party, prohibit the promotion of “cults or superstitions”. Any films suggesting the existence of the supernatural can be banned from distribution. Exceptions are made for ghost stories based on Chinese mythology or films in which the supernatural is explained by a realistic rationale (eg. drug use or dream sequence). Among the films that have fallen foul of the ruling in the past is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
Crimson Peak, which has not yet secured a Chinese release date, was inspired by the ghost stories of Thomas Hardy and Ann Radcliffe. It follows a young heiress (Mia Wasikowska) who is warned of a terrible danger by her dead mother. She meets and falls in love with Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), before moving to his ghoul-infested family home.
Del Toro’s last film, Pacific Rim, was a massive hit in China after only an average run in the US. He will have been hoping for Crimson Peak to follow a similar trajectory, after its disappointing first week at the US box office. The film made only $12.8 million in its opening weekend in the States and was beaten to the top spot by spooky kids’ caper Goosebumps.