Stoker

Name: Stoker
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: March 1, 2013
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Matthew Goode, Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman

2013

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Mixed or average reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews

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Universal acclaim based on 502 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 502 Ratings

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Stoker

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Movie Details & Credits

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: March 1, 2013 | R

Starring: Dermot Mulroney, Matthew Goode, Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman

Summary: A teenage girl mourning the death of her father deals with an uncle who mysteriously shows up to meet the family.

Director: Chan-wook Park

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 99 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Empire Olly Richards

Feb 25, 2013

An intense mix of horror, thriller and domestic drama, this is exquisite film making. Read full review

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Feb 5, 2013

More blatantly an exercise in style than anything on par with the director's crowning achievements, and suffers to some degree from the predictability of its premise. Read full review

John DeFore

Feb 5, 2013

Park's unsettling visuals and his handling of the cast make the occasional holes in Wentworth Miller's script practically irrelevant. Read full review

Joe Williams

Mar 14, 2013

Like a taxidermied owl, Stoker is lovely to look at, but in the end it’s hard to give a hoot. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Feb 28, 2013

The final act of Stoker walks a fine line between the sensational and the silly. Mr. Park is less interested in narrative suspense than in carefully orchestrated shocks and camouflaged motives. Read full review

Rick Groen

Feb 28, 2013

Park is busy treating every frame like a runway model, dressing it up in self-conscious layers of cinematic haute couture. It’s gorgeous to gaze upon but otherwise dessicated – listless, juiceless and ultimately pointless. For all his exemplary camera work, there’s no motion, or emotion, in the picture. Read full review

The Playlist Rodrigo Perez

Feb 5, 2013

The risible Stoker is a brutally empty, deeply unfortunate movie, and Park Chan-wook's jackhammer of a tool he calls a brush is, on this evidence, something that should be locked away. Read full review

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User Reviews

Deanomite

Dec 31, 2019

This was an incredibly beautiful movie that will give you a new appreciation for non cgi photography. Chung Hoon Chung is the name of the photographer, he became popular after Oldboy in 2004, which I found a good movie but a little overrated. Primary colors, natural fades, every shot couldThis was an incredibly beautiful movie that will give you a new appreciation for non cgi photography. Chung Hoon Chung is the name of the photographer, he became popular after Oldboy in 2004, which I found a good movie but a little overrated. Primary colors, natural fades, every shot could be framed like a picture. Also this movie has a really good performance by Nicole Kidman, who is so versatile it's crazy. She can be creepy, sexy, smart, perceptive, all at once and always in different ways.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

MattCipolla926

Jul 13, 2013

I cannot express how into this I was. The fantastic acting, terrific cinematography and minimalist filmmaking helps exponentially. I can't really describe it, but suffice it to say that the callous and rigid character adds so much to immense freakiness of it all; lighting, quick cuts andI cannot express how into this I was. The fantastic acting, terrific cinematography and minimalist filmmaking helps exponentially. I can't really describe it, but suffice it to say that the callous and rigid character adds so much to immense freakiness of it all; lighting, quick cuts and scenes in one shot are so admirable. People need to understand that it isn't just about a mysterious and sociopathic uncle interrupting a girl and her mother's lives. The acting, atmosphere, tone, set pieces, metaphors, symbolism, writing, how the script ties together, directing, cinematography, score, editing, sound design, lighting and more explore the thematic elements of jealousy, maturity, coming of age, growing sexuality, family dynamics, and loss of innocence. Even if you based it off of its surface value and basic plot, it would still be solid due to its flourishes of difference in plot and filmmaking. This is easily the best film of 2013, and one of my favorite films of all time. It's up there with Kubrick and (the latter, of course, since it was based off of Shadow of a Doubt). 9.7/10, masterful, two thumbs up, etc.… Expand

5 of 5 users found this helpful50

JayMan123

Mar 1, 2013

It's safe to say that fans of the Director will be pleased but so wil regular audiences as well. This is a GREAT thriller which is simultaneous vividly stunning with excellent performances. Look for this to steal some Oscars next year.

16 of 21 users found this helpful165

Capricorn87

Sep 8, 2021

*:*:*:*:*:*::*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Spangle

Nov 23, 2016

Within the first half hour, it becomes clear that Chan-wook Park had just finished watching Alfred Hitchcock's classic Shadow of a Doubt and decided, "That is my next movie." From naming a character Uncle Charlie and making him a very mysterious figure, Park's film plays like a remake ofWithin the first half hour, it becomes clear that Chan-wook Park had just finished watching Alfred Hitchcock's classic Shadow of a Doubt and decided, "That is my next movie." From naming a character Uncle Charlie and making him a very mysterious figure, Park's film plays like a remake of Shadow of a Doubt until he hits the halfway point and turns it into a movie Hitchcock never could due to the Hays Code. That said, I would not be surprised if this were the film Hitchcock wished he could have made. Perverse, sick, and decidedly twisted, Stoker landed far better for me than the only other work I have seen by Chan-wook Park, Oldboy, but still feels like a largely hollow experience.

Symbolic and emotionally withdrawn, Stoker stars Mia Wasikowska as India Stoker. A weird, dark, and emotionally disturbed teenager, India is grieving the loss of her father, Richard (Jacki Weaver). Her grieving process is interrupted by the arrival of the mysterious Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) who immediately starts coming onto both India and her mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman). Given the reaction of the teenage girls to seeing Uncle Charlie, it is hard to imagine that the pair did not want the attention given to them by Charlie. However, as people keep missing that would expose the mystery that lies behind Charlie's past (which he claims was all over-the-world due to business), things become all the more unsettling and creepy. Here, Park has a lot of fun with the symbolic elements at play here and really just likes disturbing his viewer.

Early on, we can tell that India is quite mentally ill. Evidently, so can Uncle Charlie who is shown to have taken a liking to India since she was very little. In his equally depraved mind, it is apparent that he knew the two of them were both disturbed, unlike India's father Richard. Now, Richard could certainly tell as well as he strove to keep them apart. Once together, however, it clear that they were meant for one another. Charlie, in many ways, is grooming India. Not sexually (okay, sexually), but deviously. Since he was a boy, Charlie killed. India did as well, but her father sought to keep it be restricted to birds. Unfortunately, with Charlie in the picture, she is introduced to the concept of killing people and, given a shower sequence, the thought really turns her on. Of all the disturbing sequences in the film, this one is certainly up there as one of the most chilling.

The chilling nature of their relationship is amplified by the great acting from Wasikowska and Goode. Neither are ever appreciated by the mainstream as they should be, in spite of both being terrific actors. Wasikowska plays the very restrained and inward-focused India with zero emotion, which is perfect for the character. Watching her as India and in other films such as Tracks or Crimson Peak is honestly night-and-day, given the emotion she displays in those films and the complete lack of feeling she demonstrates here. Goode, meanwhile, plays Uncle Charlie with more emotion, but still it feels as though something were missing. From the very beginning, he emanates this mysterious vibe of the character, as you can tell something is very off about this man and he may not be what he seems. While this is certainly the Shadow of a Doubt influence and for those who have seen the film, you undeniably know that Charlie is not all that he presents. But, even if you have not seen Hitchcock's film, Goode plays the role in such a way that this lack of clarity as to who he is and where he is actually from becomes incredibly clear.

On the other side, Kidman is most certainly depraved, but in a different way. She plays the role of Evelyn akin to how Wasikowska plays India, yet older. She is wiser, more mature, and as such, more restrained. She does not display emotion, other than to express her general disdain for her daughter. Evelyn is incredibly chilled and withdrawn into her own shell and Kidman brings this element to life with brute force in the film. The cinematography, of course, is also gorgeous. The main highlights being three sequences that truly stick out. The beginning with Wasikowska in the field, narrating the opening is breathtakingly shot with the sun behind her as she walks through this field. Secondly, when India is brushing Evelyn's hair. The camera seamlessly and breathtakingly flows from Kidman's bright red hair to the green of the leaves as India describes to Evelyn the feeling she gets from the hunt. Honestly, seen in conjunction with the end of the film, the scene is also quite revealing about India's character, as it demonstrates the impact hunting has on her and certainly foreshadows to her desire to change her game. The third shot that sticks out is the ending. With blood spraying on leaves and the gun trained to India's eye, Park truly captures the odd, perverse beauty of the moment with sickening skill.

All of this said, Stoker is still imperfect. In many respects, it may be too withdrawn.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

AReviews

Jun 25, 2013

Stoker is an exquisite film making, it sounds good, it looks great, but it lacks originality, which kind of disappoints in a movie that could be a one of a kind, lost opportunity, but let me deal with it, it is not an enjoyable experience, it is dark and dull, but in a good way, although itStoker is an exquisite film making, it sounds good, it looks great, but it lacks originality, which kind of disappoints in a movie that could be a one of a kind, lost opportunity, but let me deal with it, it is not an enjoyable experience, it is dark and dull, but in a good way, although it lacks originality, which means it has a lot of cliches, it stands out as one great thriller with disturbing imagery, great acting and storytelling, the editing is perfect the psychological part in this movie is perfect, but still, it is not what I was hoping for, pity.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

ReviewCenter

Aug 5, 2013

That main character is a total waste and a terrible actress. The movie was nonsense that offered no resolution except me hating it on every level. Garbage. Atrocious.

0 of 18 users found this helpful018

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86	#86 Most Discussed Movie of 2013
85	#85 Most Shared Movie of 2013