Stoker

 What's up guys? I'm the girl who seriously needs a hobby, TheCinemaChick. I check out all the weird, indie, underground, hipster films, along with the big budget blockbusters. My last review was a lesbian coming of age story set in France. So what could I possibly be looking at this time? Well...this one is less sexually explicit but a lot more...weird. You'll see when I post my warnings for this one.


Also, briefly, if I get a little off topic or ramble on and on, I sincerely apologize. I have a nerve condition and it causes me a huge amount of pain. As of right now, I have taken a very strong painkiller, so I tend to get a little wordy. On the plus side, that should make things a lot more interesting.


**Warning: This film involves murder, sex, rape and implied incest. It's not graphic but most of it does happen on screen. I will try not to get into too much detail but I like to give a heads up when I have touchy topics.**


Now, let's discuss the movie “Stoker”. It has nothing to do with Bram Stoker, the original Dracula though that was an inspiration for this story. To my surprise, the screenplay was written by Wentworth Miller. If you don't know who he is, he was a breakout actor in the TV show “Prison Break”. He's also famous for being an openly gay man in Hollywood, which I respect. I had no idea he had such amazing talent when it came to writing. I am impressed with his skills and if he writes something else and has it adapted to film, I will gladly watch it.


“Stoker” is definitely not for everyone. It's weird, it's creepy and it's twisted. As I mentioned in the warning, there is some implied incest. I'll get to that in a bit. See, it starts off with India (Mia Wasikowska) and it's her eighteenth birthday. Her world is shattered when she learns her father has died in a tragic car accident. Her uncle Charlie shows up under mysterious circumstances. So, India and her mentally unstable mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) let weird uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) stay with them. I'll explain why he's weird in a bit.


So, strange things start happening. The caretaker Mrs. Garrick and Aunt Gwendolyn suddenly disappear. India later finds Mrs. Garrick in the basement freezer when she goes to get some ice cream. India is a really smart kid and realizes Charlie is a killer but does nothing about it. She just keeps this to herself. Things take a turn when she stabs a class mate in the hand with a pencil and another boy, named Whip takes an interest in her. Back at home, India sees her mother and and her uncle getting a little too close. This upsets her so she goes to a nearby diner. Whip happens to be there and they go into the forest to make out.


Why is there always a conveniently placed forest in the movies? Also, how come when someone goes into said forest, you know something bad's going to happen? It's like one of the worst cliches ever when it comes to a thriller. Ok, moving on. So India has a change of heart, bites Whip and tries to run away. Well, it seems Whip isn't happy with this and tries to take advantage of her. Fortunately, creepy uncle Charlie happens to show up and save her. He takes his belt and manages to break the young man's neck. The freaky part: Whip is laying on top of India when his neck snaps backwards. They bury the body in the garden, which in itself is disturbing. There are several round boulders that seem out of place but this is when we find out it's a graveyard. All of the rocks are over murdered people, including Aunt Gwendolyn and now Whip.


Now, if you don't want to read this part, I won't blame you. It gets a little...wrong. Once all that is taken care of, we get a scene of India in the shower. This is her sexual awakening. As she washes off the dirt from burying a body, she remembers the way Whip died and she becomes aroused by this. I'm not kidding. The thought of his neck getting snapped turns her on so much that she masturbates to the point of orgasm. I was extremely uneasy at this point.


India soon finds out that stalker uncle Charlie had been in a mental institution until her eighteenth birthday. When he was released, her father Richard, offered Charlie money, a car and an apartment in New York in exchange for staying away from his family. Furious, Charlie kills Richard by bludgeoning him then staging the car accident. Why was he locked away, you might ask. Because it turns out there was another uncle. It seems there were three brothers, Richard, Charlie and Johnathan. Out of envy, Charlie kills Johnathan by burying him alive. Seriously, this murder was all because he was jealous. And that, dear readers, is why he is creepy uncle Charlie.


So, as any normal human being would react, India is horrified. She is repulsed and angry to learn that the man she has gotten so close to is the reason she's lost her father. I should also mention that she was very close to her father. The following day, Sheriff Howard swings by, asking if she knows anything about Whips whereabouts since he's been reported missing. Charlie covers for India and apparently, she completely forgives him. They get close, like far too close. This is where the implied incest comes in. It never states that something happened between them or not, but it's obvious there is a sexual attraction between them. It comes to a head when Charlie takes off her old saddle shoes and slips a pair of high heels on her feet. I'm not sure how that's sexual but if you watch the movie, it makes sense.


However, Evelyn, who really isn't present much during the film, finally catches on. And she's furious. I wouldn't blame her. If my brother in law was coming on to my daughter, I'd be upset too. But then it gets really weird again. Evelyn goes off on India, telling her that she hopes she suffers. Then she starts getting intimate with Charlie. If there's one thing I've learned from this film so far, it's this. DON'T BE ALONE WITH CREEPY UNCLE CHARLIE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!!
Well, he tries to strangle her. Luckily, India is a good shot and Charlie gets shot in the neck. She and Evelyn bury him and it seems the movie is over.


Nope.


India takes the car Charlie had and decides to leave for New York. Sheriff Howard pulls her over for speeding. She says she was hoping to get his attention then stabs him in the neck with garden shears. He stumbles into what I assumed was a wheat field but she simply gets her shot gun and follows him.


This movie is not for everyone. In fact, I don't recommend it unless you can handle intense thrillers with taboo undertones. I was highly uncomfortable throughout a good portions of the film and I genuinely wanted it to be over. Don't get me wrong, Mia Wasikowski is an amazing actor and she is incredible in “Stoker”. The entire cast was wonderful. The script was perfect. It's another one of those films I don't want to sit through again but it was worth seeing. There's something about the vaguely macabre look to it that drew me in.


It explores the taboo side of life without going overboard with it. I liked how it captured the essence of a dysfunctional family by showing how cold Evelyn and India could be towards each other. Evelyn genuinely wanted her daughter to suffer and India at one point ripped out some of her mother's hair. Charlie is a constant menace, providing a source of tension throughout the entire film. Overall, I love the Hitchcock feel it has and while the content is unsettling, it's presented in a really good manner. If you think you can get through this, go for it. It's not action packed, it's not super exciting but it's constantly eerie. The mystery surrounding creepy uncle Charlie will draw you in and keep you guessing until the end. Unless you read this then watch it. In that case, I've spoiled the entire movie for you and you have no need to sit through it now.



I'm TheCinemaChick and I might be located in your town at this very moment.