I thoroughly enjoyed Stoker as I'd thought I would. I was expecting a pulse-racing psychological thriller, so I was pleasantly surprised as the film took it's time to unfold the story at a pace that was neither hurried, nor was it glacial.
Stoker, I believe, is more of an art-house film than a mainstream one although it is being marketed as the latter. Therefore, I can see a lot of people being disappointed with the pace at which the film was moving along, so that's a little bit of a letdown. I feel that such a pace helped in "seducing" the audience to go along with the ride, because there's no point in rushing to the end of the film when everything within it is just so lush and beautiful.
Even though the film didn't have the shock value most people are accustomed to, because let's face it, Texas Chainsaw Massacre this is not, there were still quite a few jaw-dropping moments which I felt brought the level of creepiness to another level. And the thing is, none of those scene were shown on camera. Most of it was done with side glances of the camera, and it was left to the imagination of the audience to think about what had just transpired. And when left to my own devices, I can pretty much think about a lot of horrid things.
Stoker has this slight noir feel to it, and I think it adds to the timelessness of the movie. I love the neutral colour schemes throughout the movie, with lots of blues, and nothing gregarious. But when bold colours were added nearer to the end, it felt real and necessary and just showed how much power there was in such a simple act. In a way, the film reminded me a little bit of Hard Candy.
What the film did teach me was that within each of us, there is a seed of darkness, even in the most purest of beings; children. What we do and how we react to the darkness is what is going to determine who we are and what we will become of. And sometimes, as the film heroine said, "You need to do something bad to stop you from doing something worse."
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