Final act - much hard work for nothing and a mess of an ending
This film is very well crafted visually, and the music / atmosphere was a work of art, just like most del Toro movies...BUT the story ends in such a damn irritating and annoying way! What a waste. I don't want to list all the things i'm referring to because I don't like to make long bullet-point rants but i'll say this, which some may consider a rant anyway...
A movie sets up characters, which this one did reasonably well. You reach a point where you are pretty sure you have got to know them, how clever they are, how they might react to things, what they would do in certain situations. Then some movies ruin all that hard work (usually toward the final half or third - the "5h!t hits the fan" time) by making the characters do the most nonsensical, illogical and just plane stupid things, that anger you enough to completely pull you out of the movie. That's what happened to me in this one, and here's the one example (of many possible) I'll give.
The doctor guy busts in unexpectedly, knowing plenty about how effed-up and evil at least some of the two sibling's past life actions have been, and finds Edith close to death having just fallen from a huge height and generally in a terrible state anyway, obviously some bad things have happened at their hands, unsurprisingly. He knows by now that they are totally ruthless and capable of doing anything to get what they want. Instead of coming up with some intelligent way of talking his way out of the house with Edith (or just plane bolting out the door which would have probably been the best option short of just damn shooting them) he stands there accusing them of all the terrible things they have done etc etc and expects he can just turn his back on them and walk out and they are not going to do anything to him?!?!?!? Ridiculous!
How could he be so dumb? The answer plainly is that he would not be, he's a doctor for god's sake, he was smart enough to find out what he needed, and to get there and save Edith, and then he goes and does something as stupid as that. What would you have done if you were him at that point? Would you have expected them to just let you walk out? Would you have taken some kind of weapon in there with you? His options were obviously limited by the tough time he had to get there etc but would you have at least taken something with you to defend yourself, even if it was just a big stick? There were many other dumb character actions before and during that stabby-stabby-stab-fest at the end, but by that point it was too late, I was totally disconnected from the movie and really didn't give a crap what happened to any of them, which is the way i'm sure many viewers were feeling by that point.
Yes I know this movie was largely a romantic, gothic "fantasy", and I know ghosts don't exist, and I know there is such a thing as artistic license, but I always stand by the notion that a movie with well-formed characters must not then cheaply betray or insult it's own character's intelligence for the convenience of advancing the plot, what ever kind of story it is, and this did way, way too many times. A great shame as there was clearly much talent displayed in other areas, not least some of the actor's performances. This is dumb writing that should only be seen in cheap schlock horror, not artful intelligent movies as this otherwise partially succeeded in being.