Stoker

Stoker
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Chan-wook Park [IMDB]

I missed Stoker back in March and have been meaning to check it out ever since. I really enjoyed what I've seen from Chan-wook Park (Oldboy and Thrist) and now that he has crossed over into English films, I wanted to see how he'd hold up.

Synopsis: After a young girl and her mother lose their father and or husband, his mysterious brother... the young girl's uncle and the mother's brother in law... comes to stay awhile. Confused yet? Good.

The immediate movie that comes to mind while watching Stoker is Shadow of a Doubt, which I reviewed not too long ago. Stoker has an obvious Hitchcockian vibe going on, but it's a little more dark and artsy. I loved the cinematography in this and I found Park used that element to help ratchet up the creepy factor in certain scenes. One cool shot has Mia Wasikowska (the girl) combing Nicole Kidman's (the mom) hair and then you see the hair flow into a grassy field where Mia is hunting with her father... it was pretty awesome.

The story and characters are pretty interesting and just like with everything I've seen from Park, it definitely has a twisted ending which was pleasing. Stoker is available on VOD or blu-ray, I'd recommend picking it up, it's definitely a solid film.