It seems that any other director would not be able to handle Stoker's subject matter without making it feel gratuitous. Chan-wook Park somehow manages to handle Stoker's deeply disturbing material, but makes it so beautiful. I had not expected to be as put-off by some of the material in this film, but because it is all handled with such grace I found it a lot easier to get over.

There is a predator/prey motif apparent in Stoker that is very…