Stoker Poster
Stoker is a 2013 psychological thriller film directed by Park Chen-wook in his English directory debut. It stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode & Dermot Mulroney. It was written by Wentworth Miller. Ridley Scott was also executive producer. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20th 2013 & was theatrically released on March 1st 2013 by Fox Searchlight Pictures & Indian Paintbrush.
Plot:[]
After her father dies in a car incident, India Stoker is left with her unstable mother, Evelyn. During the funeral, India sees a man looking overhead. That man is soon revealed to be her uncle, Charlie, who had spent his life traveling the World. She had never known of his existence until they 1st meet. He stays with the women in their house-hold for a while. During his stay, India witnesses an argument between him & Mrs. McGarrick, who claims to have been the "eyes & ears" since he was young. Suddenly, she disappears. India & Charlie grow closer together as she continues to rebuff him & grows suspicious. When her great aunt Gwendolyn comes to visit, she is visibly surprised by Charlie's global travel & Evelyn states that she & her need to have a chat about Charlie. That night, Gwendolyn checks into a hotel, where she is strangled by Charlie in a phone booth via belt. At the same time, India finds McGarrick's body in the freezer & realizes that Charlie is a megalomaniac. She stabs a bully Chris Pitts with her pencil as he attempts to lay a blow on her. This catches the attention of another classmate, Whip Taylor who she lures into a forest as her mother & uncle grow closer together. India & Whip proceed to make out until she bites him on the mouth. He then attempts to rape her before Charlie comes to India's aid & murders Whip with his belt. Following this incident, India attempts to call Gwendolyn, but hears her phone ring in the garden. She then takes a shower where she reminisces her horrifying encounter with Whip. While she goes through her father's belongings in his office for things she wants to keep, she notices that her birthday key is able to unlock her father's drawer, containing messages sent to her by Charlie. She interrogates him & he confesses that he committed fratricide by murdering his brother, Jonathan, by burying him alive via sand castle trap. His brother, Richard, India's father, sent him to a mental institution for this. On the day of his release, Charlie murdered him in his car with a rock that he grabbed from the river & staged the accident. Irritable by this, India slaps him for what he did. Despite this, Charlie gives her a birthday present, a set of stiletto shoes to replace her older saddle shoes. Sheriff Howard arrives & asks about Whip's disappearance, to which Charlie gave India an alibi about his death. When the sheriff leaves, India & Charlie grow closer together as he tells her to come to New York with him, witnessed by Evelyn, who grows irritable & wishes to watch her daughter suffer. Charlie later seduces her & attempts to murder her with his belt, only for India to shot him with her sniper rifle, killing him & avenging his brothers' deaths, including her father's. She then grabs a pair of gardening sheers & takes his car, but is pulled over by the sheriff, who asks if she is in a hurry & how fast she was going. She says she was going effectively fast to get his attention & stabs him in the neck with gardening sheers. As he wheezes in pain & crawls through a field, she prepares to shoot him with her rifle.
Cast:[]
Mia Wasikowska as India Stoker
Nicole Kidman as Evelyn Stoker
Matthew Goode as Charlie Stoker
Phyllis Somerville as Mrs. McGarrick
Jacki Weaver as Gwendolyn Stoker
Lucas Till as Chris Pitts
Alden Ehrenreich as Whip Taylor
Dermot Mulroney as Richard Stoker
Ralph Brown as Sheriff Howard
Production:[]
Wentworth Miller wrote the screenplay for the movie & its prequel, Uncle Charlie. He described it as a family horror psychological thriller. The movie was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. It was also inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, but isn't about vampires. Caray Mulligan & Jodie Foster were considered for the roles before Mia Wasikowska & Nicole Kidman took over. Colin Forth was considered as Charlie, but was replaced by Matthew Goode. The film was shot in Nashville, Tennessee & took 40 days. Sadly, Ridley Scott's brother, Tony Scott, passed away after production wrapped, so this movie pays tribute to him. Philipp Glass was considered for composing music for the film, but was instead replaced by Clint Mansell, although some of her original piano compositions were left in the film.
Reception:[]
The filmed grossed $12.1,000,000 at the box office & garnered a lot of positive reviews. It received a 3.5/4, 70% Critical & a 6.7/10 rating. It received nominations for best editing, directing, scores, screenplay & cast.
Trivia:[]
The end credits track, Becomes The Color by Emily Wells, was also used in Netflix's 1899.
The film's end credits roll down instead of up, which is not common to most 20th Century Fox's releases. This is done to represent India's slow descent into madness, Other films outside of 20th Century Fox & its associated subsidiaries that use this credits technique are David Fincher's Se7en, Nicolas Cage's Next (2007) & Longlegs (2024), Cherry Falls & Run Lola Run.