Now this is what I am talking about! Where are all of the original movies anymore? STOKER looks like the antidote for all of the sequels and reboots that we are inundated with every year. For a while I was paranoid it would be a DRACULA remake, but this looks so much better.
Park Chan-wook (my wife is Korean so I will use the proper name order) has been one of my favorite directors since I saw OLDBOY. LADY VENGEANCE, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, and THIRST are fantastic as well. For his first American film, Park has gathered Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, and Matthew Goode for an extremely creepy looking movie.
The sneak peek we saw last week was pretty great, but the full trailer takes it to another level entirely.
Plot: After India’s (Wasikowska’s) father dies in an auto accident, her Uncle Charlie (Goode), who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother (Kidman). Soon after his arrival, she comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives, but instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless girl becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
It still shocks me that this movie was written by Wentworth Miller, star of FOX’s PRISON BREAK. Wasikowska looks brilliant, Matthew Goode is seductively evil, and Nicole Kidman continues her renaissance as an actress, I watched this trailer three times in a row and I cannot shake the feeling that it is DARK SHADOWS meets LOLITA. I love the uniqueness of this movie and hope it finds the audience it deserves. This looks to be the first in a long career of original successes for Park Chan-wook.
STOKER opens in theaters in limited release on March 1st, 2013.