19th century America. The daughter of a rich businessman, Edith Cushing, 24, dreams of being an independent writer. Until she meets Thomas Sharpe, an English industrialist in search of investors. She falls in love with Thomas and follows him to Cumbria, a mountainous, rural region of England, were he has a huge manor that he shares with his austere sister Lucille. But Edith soon realizes that Thomas and Lucille have a mysterious secret tied to this sinister house…

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What sounds like a great idea – an homage to classic horror by Guillermo Del Toro, starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston in an old, isolated manor inhabited by shapeless phantoms – unfortunately does not live up to its potential. Bland, unimaginative, lacking in energy, this dull gothic tale offers neither shivers nor fear, with no memorable shots – despite great lighting and set decoration – and unconvincing special effects. With no suspense at all, a generic, flat and soporific rhythm, and a bottom-drawer romance plot, it reminds audiences that Guillermo Del Toro is a director so diverse that he is capable of both excellence (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy II: The Golden Army) and rubbish (Pacific Rim and this, most likely his worst movie yet).