Featured Audience Ratings

• Film C

  
  An eerie but uninteresting movie thats leaves much to be desired. Fantastically acted, beautifully shot, but completely lost the Plot!

• Sam B

  
  "Stoker" is a beautiful peculiarity, a gloriously messed-up piece of cinematic cynicism from the director of "Oldboy". It's most striking features are its transitions and its lead Mia Wasikowska, who is also able to transition into several different character… More
  "Stoker" is a beautiful peculiarity, a gloriously messed-up piece of cinematic cynicism from the director of "Oldboy". It's most striking features are its transitions and its lead Mia Wasikowska, who is also able to transition into several different character types seamlessly (her appearance seems to change subtly with every shift). The other actors (even Kidman) are a bit stilted, and the plot sometimes borders on edgy for the sake of edginess, but "Stoker" revels in its strangeness, and I have to admire a movie that knows exactly what it is and rolls with it.

• Kase V

  
  Most of Park Chan-Wook's brilliance comes from his delightfully dark atmosphere and great cinematography. He handles the thin script surprisingly well, and creates a moody and taut thriller.

• Carlos M

  
  Wasikowska's creepy, hardly bearable character is one the problems of this mis-structured thriller, which also attempts to extract tension from a mystery that we don't even know is there - and when it is finally revealed, everything that follows is made entirely predictable.

• Greg S

  
  India Stoker's father dies on her 18th birthday, and the uncle she never knew she had shows up soon thereafter and installs himself in the lonely house she lives in with her attractive mother. This loopy, lurid and occasionally lovely melodrama/psychological thriller with… More
  India Stoker's father dies on her 18th birthday, and the uncle she never knew she had shows up soon thereafter and installs himself in the lonely house she lives in with her attractive mother. This loopy, lurid and occasionally lovely melodrama/psychological thriller with Hollywood stars (Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman) is the first English language film from Chan-wook Park (OLDBOY). Parks' fans seem to be eating it up, but so far I like his Korean movies better; this one seems like a Korean shock film badly translated into an American idiom.

• Mark H

  
  Many have gone so far as to say this is inspired by Hitchcock, but that is to completely disregard the director's facility with wit, nuance and decorum. The script is pointless, classless and vulgar. Ok so those last two are the same thing, but I want to really stress that. This… More
  Many have gone so far as to say this is inspired by Hitchcock, but that is to completely disregard the director's facility with wit, nuance and decorum. The script is pointless, classless and vulgar. Ok so those last two are the same thing, but I want to really stress that. This is about as similar to Hitchcock as Kim Kardashian is to Audrey Hepburn. If Shadow of a Doubt is the bon vivant that teaches English literature at the University level then Stoker is the drunk and disorderly younger brother (with a slavish devotion to designer labels) that didn't finish high school. Need another example? Mia Wasikowska's shower sequence comes to mind. No it's not like the one in Psycho but it is memorable and not in a good way. fastfilmreviews.wordpress.com

• Jonathan H

  
  You might assume that Park Chan-wook's first English language film may something to do with Dracula, based off the title and that his feature delved into the vampiric, but it doesn't (although I wouldn't be surprised if the name "Stoker" was chosen because of… More
  You might assume that Park Chan-wook's first English language film may something to do with Dracula, based off the title and that his feature delved into the vampiric, but it doesn't (although I wouldn't be surprised if the name "Stoker" was chosen because of what it conjures: macabre, morbid, gothic, dark, etc.). Instead, it's a psycho-sexual update on Hitch's terrific Shadow of a Doubt. I'm not too familiar with Park's infamous Korean films, but from what I understand he excels at visual style, dark storytelling and punishing violence. To that end, Stoker's violence and depravity seem a little toned down and less over the top in comparison. The film focuses on the titular family of India, Evelyn, and Richard Stoker (Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, and Dermot Mulroney). When Richard dies in a mysterious car crash, his oddball daughter India begins to further distance herself from her estranged mother, Evelyn. After burying their patriarch, the family is visited by India's Uncle, Charlie (Matthew Goode, in hands down the best performance of his career). Charlie seems a little out there, and begins to form a sketchy relationship with India that suggests Uncle Charlie may desire more than family bonding. To elaborate any more would spoil the film, but needless to say it's an interesting premise. The story unfolds very slowly, with few dramatic developments until deep into the second act, which contains much more wizz-bang than the somber and meticulously paced beginning. This isn't a bad thing at all, largely because the characters are so fascinating from the get-go that accompanying them while they go about their day to day lives is a pleasure. Even when the movie seems to be resting on its laurels early on, the performances are great all around (Goode, as previously mentioned, but also Wasikowska's performance as distant and on-edge India). The lynchpin, though, is Park's direction. From the opening scene of fragmented shots with computer generated transitions that occur throughout the movie, Stoker drips with style, but thankfully not at the expense of substance, thanks Wentworth Miller's script (yep, the Prison Break guy) that tackles the deconstruction of the American family dynamic through the lens of a dark coming of age story. This film never has an ugly moment, and each shot oozes with creative shot compositions and visual flair. My personal favorite is an early scene in a basement involving a swinging light fixture (think Once upon a time in the West). The atmosphere, also, is well sustained throughout. Hopefully this is the start of what will be a long English language career for Park Chan-wook.

• William D

  
  All style and no substance. "Stoker" is a stinker. It looks great; every shot is stunningly beautiful. Director Park Chan-wook, making his first English-language film, demonstrates great visual skill, but no story-telling skill. Park fits right in with the worldwide trend of… More
  All style and no substance. "Stoker" is a stinker. It looks great; every shot is stunningly beautiful. Director Park Chan-wook, making his first English-language film, demonstrates great visual skill, but no story-telling skill. Park fits right in with the worldwide trend of 21st-century filmmakers functioning as little more than cinematographers. I appreciate that "Stoker" is avant-garde, refusing to operate within traditional realism. Almost nothing that happens in the film could possibly happen in the real world. I loved that. The problem is that its lurid imagination doesn't produce any insight. None of it adds up to anything, and it moves along at a very plodding, slow pace. Park may know how to photograph a great shot, but he has no idea how to edit a great sequence. When we meet the Stoker family (I love the name), the father has just died. The father's brother, Uncle Charles (an eerie and magnetic Matthew Goode), moves in with the mother (Nicole Kidman) and daughter, India (Mia Wasikowska). Other family members show up briefly to express puzzling concern about this menage-a-trois. The film presents a vague sense of dread about Uncle Charles. What does the extended family know about him that we don't? The handsome Uncle Charles has a strange, almost erotic interest in both the mother and daughter. He frequently follows India home from high school, for example, being both creepy and beguiling. When India gets nearly raped, Uncle Charles miraculously appears to protect her. The two then team up to kill the would-be rapist. The murder is not bloody, but it is brutal. And here's the thing: Park films it in an erotic way. The moment when the boy's neck breaks is treated as something close to an orgasm. This causes India to become intensely drawn to Uncle Charles. Bonding through killing and vengeance. I like this brutal new version of gothic, but Park goes nowhere with it. As an artist, he doesn't seem to be saying anything with it, except maybe: Isn't this sexy and cool? Over time, Uncle Charles's secrets are exposed, and it's revealed that he is a fairly ordinary psychopath. But India can't shake off his influence that easily, and she begins to follow in his footsteps. The film ends in a bloody sequence that again is staged and photographed erotically. I like Park's dark imagination, his aversion to realism, and his visual artistry. But if he doesn't start adding depth to his stories, his films are going to be little more than a footnote in the history of cinema. He's also got to learn the art of editing. His sense of cinematic rhythm is god-awful.

• Liam G

  
  There are a couple of issues I have with the script but the characters are intriguing enough to keep you invested in the story and Park Chan-Wook's sublime direction really elevates the material.

• Aaron N

  
  India: We don't need to be friends, we're family. Stoker is the English-language debut of Korean director Park Chan-wook, who has previously made thrillers such as Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, which are known for depicting brutal subject matter within the frame of… More
  India: We don't need to be friends, we're family. Stoker is the English-language debut of Korean director Park Chan-wook, who has previously made thrillers such as Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, which are known for depicting brutal subject matter within the frame of beautifully executed visuals. Those familiar with his work can see that Chan-wook has a deep appreciation for filmmakers such as Hitchcock and he has gone on to make films that echo that sort of work at a more extreme level. Stoker is very much indebted to Hitchcock, as well as Brian DePalma, among others, given how the film portrays a level of suspense in such an effective manner. The film is a psychological drama as well as an American Gothic horror film that Park Chan-wook really directs the hell out of. read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com

• Walter M

  
  Richard Stoker(Dermot Mulroney) is dead. He leaves behind his wife Evelyn(Nicole Kidman) and 18-year old daughter India(Mia Wasikowska). It is India who misses him the most, especially their hunting trips and his birthday presents. Except those are actually the work of her uncle… More
  Richard Stoker(Dermot Mulroney) is dead. He leaves behind his wife Evelyn(Nicole Kidman) and 18-year old daughter India(Mia Wasikowska). It is India who misses him the most, especially their hunting trips and his birthday presents. Except those are actually the work of her uncle Charlie(Matthew Goode) by way of Mrs. McGarrick(Phyllis Somerville), the family maid, which is strange considering how little India knows him. Well, that will soon change after he is invited by Evelyn to stay for a while after the funeral. While "Stoker" may seem very familiar on the surface with its odd references(especially an uncle Charlie), this cannot be considered a mere homage to Hitchcock due to there being no mundane or ordinary here to have a rubber snake thrown at. Here, everybody is at least a little off in this dark and twisted gothic tale, especially India who is weird, to say the least. And Park Chan-wook heightens this through the exquisitely designed use of visuals, including a couple of breathtaking segues. In short, this movie works better when the revelations are implicit, not explicit, which in any case are not complicit. All of which is in the service of a pointed exploration of family that begins with India's telling her uncle that "we are family, we don't have to be friends" and runs breathlessly to Evelyn's devastating monologue which brings down the house, almost literally.

• The Movie W

  
  At the funeral of her father, 18 year old India (Wasikowska) first meets Charlie (Goode), the uncle who had sent her a new pair of shoes on each of her 18 birthdays but had never previously visited. Her grieving mother, Evelyn (Kidman), invites Charlie to stay and he accepts the… More
  At the funeral of her father, 18 year old India (Wasikowska) first meets Charlie (Goode), the uncle who had sent her a new pair of shoes on each of her 18 birthdays but had never previously visited. Her grieving mother, Evelyn (Kidman), invites Charlie to stay and he accepts the invitation. India finds herself drawn to her uncle's charm, as does Evelyn, but grows suspicious when their housekeeper mysteriously vanishes shortly after she is seen arguing with Charlie. As India becomes acquainted with Charlie, sexual and violent impulses are awakened within her, leading the two to share a dark secret. Ken Russell once related an anecdote regarding his controversial film 'Women in Love'. When the movie opened in 1969, Russell wanted to experience the public's reaction and so purchased a ticket for an afternoon screening in one of the more conservative of London's suburbs. Spotting a pair of elderly ladies seated together, he rubbed his hands with glee and took a seat behind them. Russell waited patiently for the film's notorious naked wrestling match between Alan Bates and Oliver Reed, certain it would cause moral outrage amongst the audience. When the scene arrived, he leaned close to the two old dears who sat attentively through the scene, not passing any remarks. Finally, when the scene ended, one lady turned to the other and simply whispered "Lovely carpet, wasn't it?" 'Stoker', the U.S debut of acclaimed Korean director Wook, features some lovely carpet...and furniture...and drapes etc. You won't see too much production design to rival its elegance this year. The same goes for Chung-hoon Chung's cinematography, absolutely glorious. Unfortunately the film is as emotionally uninvolving as it is aesthetically interesting. Despite Wook's best attempts, it boils down to an unremarkable thriller, albeit one seemingly aimed more at hardcore cinephiles than general audiences. The screenplay, by actor Wentworth Miller, spends more time referencing Hitchcock than building genuine suspense. It may aim for the work of Hitchcock himself but the film 'Stoker' most reminds me of is 'Psycho 3', another movie which looks fantastic but fails to draw you into its story. We even get a repeat of that movie's motel phone-booth murder. Fans of Vincente Minnelli will also spot a homage to the creepy piano scene between Katharine Hepburn and Robert Taylor from his 1946 'Undercurrent'. Remove these many homages and you're left with a visually stunning, but ultimately empty experience.

• Alec B

  
  It all makes little to no sense, but that's part of its weird charm. What the film lacks in plausible storytelling, it somewhat makes up for in Park Chan-wook's totally original visual style.

• John C

  
  Early strong contender for worst movie of the year... the movie in which no one seems to blink that's how bored I was watching it. (3-12-13)

• Christopher H

  
  "Stoker" is the perfect English debut from director Park Chan-wook. In this eerie thriller, Mia Wasikowska boldly plays a young woman named India, who is not only dealing with the loss of her father, but her insatiable mother, played by Nicole Kidman and the emergence of a… More
  "Stoker" is the perfect English debut from director Park Chan-wook. In this eerie thriller, Mia Wasikowska boldly plays a young woman named India, who is not only dealing with the loss of her father, but her insatiable mother, played by Nicole Kidman and the emergence of a distant uncle, Charlie, played brilliantly by Matthew Goode. Chan-wook displays his prowess with strong attention to detail, providing one of the most intense and creative sound designs I've ever experienced along with a keen eye for impeccable imagery. There is a strong sense of rhythm and punctuation in the film's editing, with impressive transitions, coinciding with the film's strong central cinematography. "Stoker" is poetic, and like the piano parts played throughout the film, it is filled with highs and lows, crescendos and decrescendos, and is ultimately a study of perspective with which one little change can make the same series of events mean something completely different, to which we revisit constantly throughout the film. The performances are tight-knit, the production of the film is masterful, and Chan-wook now has the impossible task of topping his latest film.

• Andrew P

  
  Stoker is a wonderfully dark and brilliantly twisted movie. Park Chan-Wook leaves his mark on this film by having a visually stunning end result. It's lacking in dialogue which only helps to build up the tension was the film becomes more and more twisted. Credit to Wasikowska and… More
  Stoker is a wonderfully dark and brilliantly twisted movie. Park Chan-Wook leaves his mark on this film by having a visually stunning end result. It's lacking in dialogue which only helps to build up the tension was the film becomes more and more twisted. Credit to Wasikowska and Goode because they really do just carry this film and make it as superb as it deserved to be. If you are in the mood for something a little different, go and see Stoker, you won't regret it.

• Marcus W

  
  A creepy Hitchcockian romp, with some sublime camerawork.

Read all 17 featured audience ratings