On her eighteenth birthday, India Stoker (Wasikowska) suffers the death of her father (Dermot Mulroney). At the wake of the funeral, India meets her estranged uncle, Charlie (Goode) who goes on to stay with India and her mother (Kidman). Amidst the strange sexual tension that takes hold in the house, Charlie’s arrival also coincides with the start of a string of brutal murders.
... Having already made a name for himself in his native South Korea off of the back of Oldboy (2003) and Thirst (2009), Chan-Wook Park makes his English-language debut in this charged and provocative thriller. Park’s fondness for Hitchcock shines through with a plot heavily reminiscent of Shadow Of A Doubt (1943) and several visual nods towards Psycho (1960). This is a more explicit depiction of the subjects of sex and violence than those two films and isn’t for the faint of heart. Wasikowska is an inspired casting choice, portraying both girlish innocence and womanly cunning whilst playing a character that seems to have stepped straight out of a Tim Burton film (although not Alice In Wonderland (2009), before you ask). The dialogue isn’t great with some major plot holes and Matthew Goode’s Charlie is perhaps played a little to maniacally and over-the-top but does suit the film’s dark undertones. Stylish and bold, Stoker may shock more than a few who dare to see it.
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