2013 Directed by Park Chan-wook
After India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
Does for belts, sand castles, staircases, pianos, pencils, pencil sharpeners, ice cream, freezers, phone booths, shoes, duck hunts, dinner, garden shears, shovels, metronomes, and showers what Psycho did for showers.
At 98 minutes, this is my dream length of movie. I have said it all my life.
After leaving this screening, and using the facilities, I could quite easily have jumped straight back in to watch the whole movie again. That doesn't happen to me often.
Stoker is phenomenal.
It's as dreamy as it is taught. As beautiful as it is horrific. It's The Tree of Life with A screenplay. An outstanding screenplay at that. It has been said that the director Park Chan-Wook has made a Hitchcock movie. You can't make a Hitchcock movie without a Hitchcock screenplay, and Wentworth Miller and Erin Cressida have made one. It's my favourite scenplay in recent memory. It keeps enough under wraps…
Tonight, India joins the hunt.
Gothic, surreal, unsettling, and of course, tremendously gorgeous. Not surprising since I expect nothing less from the master Park Chan Wook. A frame is always connected to the next, transition between scenes are so smooth they're almost invisible. Every shot seems to have a life of its own. Instead of being a medium to carry the plot, they gracefully became the story itself. Mia Wasikowska gave her best and so does everyone else. Without a single doubt, I say Stoker is as good as an English debut gets.
things Stoker invented:
- the word "hello"
- freezers
- blood splatter
- slow fades
- piano duets
- garden shears
- visual ingenuity
- saddle shoes
(this film only gets better and better when you rewatch it)
I’ve noticed a recent personal trend of being out of step with public and critical opinion. It’s certainly not a case of becoming contrarian or even more difficult to please in my old age but I am finding it harder to enjoy some modern films in the way so many other people clearly are. Unfortunately, Chan-wook Park’s Stoker is another one to add to this growing list of recent disappointments.
Maybe my contrasting view this time around is a little less surprising as I have always had a volatile relationship with Park’s films of either utter devotion (Oldboy, Thirst etc.) or deep loathing (Lady Vengeance, I’m a Cyborg...). The key differentiating factor between these sets of films is a robust…
I really loved most of Stoker so much that I was extra disappointed it sort of fizzled out by the ending. It channels Shadow of a Doubt (complete with its own Uncle Charlie) with a pinch of Beatlejuice in Mia Wasikowska's character. It's actually the first Chan-wook Park I've seen and I hear it's atypical, but his skills as a filmmaker are clear. There's such an awesome sense of tension and this movie is gorgeous, especially in the scene transitions. I loved how Nicole Kidman's golden hair would transition into golden grass where India and her dad are hiding while on a hunting trip. Or how India would open her pencil box case the same way she opened the downstairs…
every shot of stoker is perfectly coordinated and crafted, almost that of an intricate painting. each and every shot is beautiful, speaks one hundred words, and shows off the brilliant mastermind’s work that is Park-Chan Wook.
however it’s not the look, or the batshit crazy acting that’s involved, or THE PENCIL SCENE that sets this film apart from all others. it’s the director’s ability to make the crazy seem normal, the immoral seem moral, and the ugly seem beautiful.
It takes a brilliantly twisted kind of mind to make up a film like this.
I was hooked from the start, flawless performance from all the actors, don't know which of the three main ones were my favorite.
The film consistently walked that fine line between reality and India's disturbed mind, so you were always right there with her.
And I like how it wasn't just a build-up to one big plot twist, but there were several clues throughout the film left intentionally for the viewer. And then the final scenes leave you gobsmacked.
It's a coming-of-age horror. Deffo recommend.
"He used to say, sometimes you need to do something bad to stop you from doing something worse."
Wie das Knarzen eines Ledergürtels, der langsam immer enger gezogen wird. Surreal, beängstigend, mitreißend und spannend.
Am Ende bleibt da kein Ausweg mehr. Die Auflösung scheint obsolet, denn eigentlich wissen wir schon, was passieren wird. Dass wir schweißgebadet aufwachen werden. Aufwachen aus diesem wunderschönen, fabelhaften Albtraum, dessen Bilder und Spannung uns noch einige Zeit verfolgen werden.
'Stoker' ist unerträglich gut. So einfach, doch effektiv und hochästhetisch gefilmt, begleitet von einem fantastischen Soundtrack. Matthew Goode ist wie gemacht für seine Rolle. Wasikowska und Kidman spielen ebenfalls hervorragend.
Eine wunderbare Metapher, eine Fabel, eine unfassbare und merkwürdige Erfahrung, die ihren ganz eigenen Stil findet und diesen selbstbewusst und kompromisslos beibehält.
Einer der bemerkenswertesten Filme der letzten 10 Jahre!
Und vielleicht sogar einer der Besten.
Hungkat 135 films
Forget 'em loud BOO-ing jump scares ‘cause these deliberate-cooked horrors/thrillers will burn you up.
Kiri Kiri Kiri Kiri 💉💉💉
Suggestions…
SilverShamRoock 70 films
70 Thrillers psicológicos que deberías ver. Una lista creada por @levmauc.
heathldgr 36 films
WHEN THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IS SO GOOD THAT IT MAKES YOU WANT! TO! SCREAM! Additional suggestions are always welcome.
