13 Nights of Shocktober: Stoker

by. A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 10: Do Not Disturb the Family: Stoker

Stoker is a film with unlikely credentials. It is the only writing credit for actor Wentworth Miller, of the TV series Prison Break. It is the first English language film from Korean director Park Chan-Wook, famous for his ultra-violent revenge trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance). It borrows the premise of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1942 film Shadow of a Doubt: Uncle Charlie, equal parts menacing and alluring, enters and disrupts the idyllic home life of his teenage niece. But Stoker is not a remake of Hitchcock’s movie, it begins with that premise then takes off into a creepy family drama and psychological thriller.  

Matthew Goode plays Uncle Charlie Stoker, Nicole Kidman plays Evelyn Stoker, his brother’s wife, but the subtle star of this film is Mia Wasikowska as his niece, India Stoker. On India's 18th birthday, her father Richard (Dermot Mulroney) dies in a car accident. On the day of the funeral Uncle Charlie, whom India did not know existed, returns from traveling the world and moves in with her and her distant, unstable mother. While India remains cold to her Uncle Charlie, her mother warms up to him nicely, perhaps too nicely. For her 18th birthday she received a key. We wonder with her who it is from and what it unlocks.

India wonders about things teens often ponder over. Are you in control of your nature or has it already been decided for you? The film opens with a narration by India telling us that she hears things other people don’t hear and sees things others don’t see. We hear exposition from characters whispering so that India won’t hear, but she still hears. Her watchful eyes and quiet nature allow her to spy on characters that think they’re hiding their actions, but India already knows what others are trying to hide. They just confirm her suspicions. She slowly warms up to Uncle Charlie as they learn each other’s secrets. We see them play the piano together in a creepy and uncomfortable duet.

Stoker has a distinct, effective sound design. The sound of hair being brushed turns into the rustling of tall, dry grass. The beautiful, bold production design and cinematography makes every scene feel like an uncanny painting. All of this emphasizes India’s heightened senses and gives the film an unreal, dreamlike tone. India’s home is upper class and impeccably kept but its aesthetic seems unlike an actual home. The other teenagers she goes to school with don’t act quite like average teenagers. The trees and the grass and flowers are idyllic like a pastoral dream. There is something disquieting about all of this that adds to the underlying and unspoken menace surrounding the characters

Stoker feels like it is an adaptation of a Gothic novel. It takes place in a seemingly normal environment that feels like a fantasy. This is a film that, like its main character, is quiet and does not directly tell us much. We learn about the characters and plot, like India, from listening and watching. There is a lot that Stoker does not show us forgoing the shock value other films seize upon with misguided eagerness. Stoker shows us static images of seemingly benign things that we know carry heavy implications. When violence finally happens it is striking, but underplayed. This is a film shot and staged with meticulous care and sharp skill. Stoker may be a slow burn thriller, but this character based story builds to a satisfying, but perhaps unsettling, ending.