Review of Stoker (2013) by Kevin C — 23 Jul 2013

Psychotic people are dangerous. I don't know about you, but no one ever told me that. Still, it seems pretty important to know, don't you think? That, and don't tell crazy people they're crazy. Considering the fact that it's highly probable they have a wide range of personality disorders, they'll feel betrayed and most likely try to kill you. Crazy isn't exactly a compliment, you know. The 18 year-old India (Mia Wasikowska) learned the dangers of psychotic people in Park Chan-wook's (director of Oldboy) 2013 psychological thriller film, Stoker (written by Wentworth Miller under pseudonym Ted Foulke). Now despite being one of the most disturbing films I've ever seen (not comparable to A Serbian Film or Visitor Q, more in the realm of Margaret or Cracks) it wasn't overly horrible, like some disturbing films are. Despite being less than original, Matthew Goode surprisingly makes an eerily convincing pedophilic uncle, the cinematography was spellbinding, and it did have a few startling plot twists.

Although Mia Wasikowska looks like an older and female version of the 2006 Omen's antichrist, Damien, Stoker is actually an incestuous twist off of Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 Shadow of a Doubt. Shadow of a Doubt focuses on homicidal psychopathic Uncle Charlie who visits his older sister. When his niece, also called Charlie, discovers his crimes, he devises various ways to murder her, always unsuccessfully. Stoker also focuses on homicidal psychopathic Uncle Charlie who visits his late brother's family and develops a complex relationship with his niece, India. Along with Shadow of a Doubt, Stoker contains Hitchcock's themes of the charming sociopath, the double, the perfect murder, suspense, trains, and mothers. Stoker also contained standard Hitchcock themes of food and death, birds, tennis, audience as voyeur and sexuality.

Even though Hitchcock is universally renowned for his film noir, I favored Stoker out of the two. Matthew Goode steps out of his typical rom-com role to play India Stoker's lecherous Uncle Charlie with unnerving ease. Nicole Kidman plays India's neglectful and self-absorbed mother, capturing her cold aura perfectly, to no surprise. On the other hand, Mia Wasikowska portrayed outcast India with a unique blend of innocence and malice. In spite of the outstanding acting, some plot devices were simply not credible. The movie was shot with careful attention to the use of color, and several scenes were quite eye-catching.

All in all, Stoker was a movie worth watching (I'm looking forward to seeing Miller's prequel, Uncle Charlie), one that kept you on the edge of your seat every minute, unlike Shadow of a Doubt. It raises questions, at least for me, such as why does realistic horror scare us? Are we afraid that what we've done will come back for revenge?