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Every family has its skeletons in the closet—those unpleasant little secrets that we feel are best kept quiet. But rarely are those secrets as dark or disturbing as those kept by the characters in director Chan-wook Park’s eerie family drama, Stoker.
Mia Wasikowska stars as India Stoker, a quiet, introverted young woman who loses her father in a horrible car accident on her 18th birthday. It seems as though India will be left alone with her unbalanced mother, Evie (Nicole Kidman). But then her father’s younger brother, Charlie (Matthew Goode), arrives for the funeral and decides to stick around for a while.
India had never heard of her mysterious, world-traveling uncle—but while she’s hesitant to welcome him into their home, her mother quickly falls for his charms. It soon becomes clear to India that her uncle isn’t what he says he is—but instead of fearing him, she becomes fascinated by him.
Some films are character-driven. Others focus more on the story…or the action. But Stoker is all about the atmosphere. It’s a quiet, moody thriller with a mystery that slowly unfolds as it delves deeper into the characters’ stories. Everything about the film is just slightly off-putting—from Charlie’s creepy smirk to the Stokers’ old house in the country to the way that everyone inside the house looks and acts like they’ve been transplanted from another time. It’s visually intriguing, with a hazy, old-fashioned feel that helps to make it feel more like a gothic horror than a modern-day mystery.
From the very beginning, the film’s eerie, foreboding tone will put audiences on high alert, fully aware that something’s not quite right here. Could it be the unstable widow? The mysterious brother? The quiet young woman with heightened senses? Or perhaps it’s all of the above. And as the truth gradually begins to come out, it only becomes all the more chilling.
The problem, however, is that the film doesn’t get too far beyond its creepy atmosphere. Sure, some disturbing things happen, but so much of it seems random and somewhat contrived—and the more you think about it, the stranger it feels. Parts of the back story feel intentionally vague, while some of the story’s details will leave you with more questions than answers—and those questions that might haunt you just as much as the story itself.
Stoker is certainly an eerie film—and if you love films that give you the chills, this one is definitely worth checking out. As long as you aren’t expecting the pieces to fit neatly together in the end, you may just enjoy delving into this troubled family’s deep, dark, disturbing secrets. If nothing else, it should make your own family feel positively saintly.
Blu-ray Review:
The Blu-ray release of Chan-wook Park’s English-language debut is loaded with extras. Like the film itself, though, there’s plenty to see here—but it doesn’t tell much of a story.
The extras menu includes a half-hour making-of feature that captures several of the most important aspects of the filmmaking process, from the style and location to working with “Director Park” on his first English film (despite the fact that he doesn’t actually speak the language). There’s also another collection of behind-the-scenes features, called Theatrical Behind the Scenes, which tackle several of the same topics (using some of the same footage), only in shorter, more bite-sized pieces. This collection also includes a feature on composer Clint Mansell’s score.
Other features, meanwhile, include two collections of still photography and some footage from the film’s Korean premiere—all of which feel strangely distant. The premiere footage is quite one-sided: lots of people you probably won’t recognize, some autograph signing set to music, and a segment with Park, Mia Wasikowska, and singer Emily Wells answering questions that you haven’t heard.
The extras, then, are admittedly quite fitting for the film. They’re interesting to look at, but they feel a bit mysterious—and, in the end, they’ll leave you feeling less than satisfied.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
