5. Stoker (2013)
Expectation: Biopic of a certain nineteenth-century Irish writer and creator of one of literature and film's finest monsters.
Reality: Written by Wentworth Miller, Park Chan-wook's first English-language film is a psychological thriller that dabbles in homegrown horror. Following the death of her husband, Evelyn Stoker (Nicole Kidman) introduces her daughter (Mia Wasikowska) to the uncle she never knew existed (Matthew Goode). To say they get on would be an understatement. Thus begins a shadowy exploration of sexuality and family secrets, all handled with first the delicacy of lace, and then the coarseness of rope. A Southern Gothic, following the likes of last year's
Killer Joe and
Beasts of the Southern Wild but with Hitchcock's influence looming large (Miller admits
Shadow of A Doubt was a direct influence),
Stoker lets too many arty shots get in the way of a good story. Perhaps it would be cynical of me to suggest the title is a flagrant cash-in, and a tad overdramatic to declare it a stake in the very heart of horror. After all, what's in a name? Nobody expected Will Smith to cry out ''A pint? That's very nearly an armful!'' in
Hancock... did they?