Stoker

Ratings: 7.9/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Stoker is a disturbing, emotionally packed sensuous powerhouse film which beautifully reels its viewers in. It's sick (duh, what do you expect from the director of Oldboy?), thought-provoking, and in a warped sense, elegantly beautiful. Kudos to the director's eye for great cinematography. The camera techniques and style used were refreshing and had a finesse of its own - transition continuity and 360 degrees panning scenes.

After the death of India's father, her charismatic uncle mysterious shows up. Wary yet intrigued by her newly arrived uncle, she gradually uncovers a dark secret which sets into motion a twisted attraction. 

Storyline wise it's predictable, but it's the build up which was applausable. Despite being a dialogue driven movie, the gripping suspense kept my eyes glued to the screen throughout. There were some mildly erotic disturbing scenes which portrayed more depth than what it seemed. The stoic expressions of the 3 main characters, India, her mother and her uncle, created a "Live"-like theatrical arthouse element to the movie, even though it may seem rather unnatural and unrealistic at times. 

*major spoilers ahead* There's some room for your imagination and not everything is laid out as clear cut as the disclosure of the cause of accident which took India's father's life. It's more of a psychological thriller than an erotic thriller and as the title suggests, it's all about India Stoker, and the movie allows its viewers to have a front row seat inside the mind of this mysterious adolescent. 

*warning: major major spoilers ahead* The opening scene started off with a brief and vital introduction to our female protagonist, that she is special in a way that her senses are more "advanced" than others. She's able to hear the softest of things, and is extremely observant to her surroundings. This ability of hers sets the premise of her uncovering things that normally an ordinary person would be oblivious to. 

The scene was unexpectedly revisited at the end, and the seemingly innocent opening scene turned out to be more than meets the eye.. just like India herself.

The movie's main theme is India's sexual awakening, which was ignited by her charming uncle. However, this sexual awakening transcends more than just physical attraction, but a pyschological one. Her fantasies weren't the purest of forms, and it's that one bathroom scene which exposed her true inner psyche. 

Stoker is definitely a movie which will "haunt" the minds of its audience, as did Thirst (Korean vampire movie by the same director) did to me. Somehow, this Korean director has skilfully managed to successfully make every movie experience so pyschologically disturbing that it's tough to forget. Chan-wook Park, I "hate" you, for opening up that "sick awakening" inside of me... Respect.