Question: how do you remake a Hitchcock film without audiences rising up in anger and contempt against you? Answer: steal the basic plot and then disguise it so heavily in camouflage no-one will realise until it’s too late. That’s effectively what Korean director Chan-wook Park and writer Wentworth Miller have done with STOKER; underneath the Southern Gothic window dressing and Dracula-inspired title and imagery beats the heart of SHADOW OF A DOUBT, ripped from its 1940s setting and reimagined as a sordid psychological thriller.

In both films a suave and sophisticated Uncle Charlie returns home and strikes up a not-entirely innocent relationship with his naive and much younger niece. This being 2013, what was originally subtext is now overt implication. But to linger on comparisons between the two would be to do a disservice to what Park and Miller have constructed; an artfully twisted thriller that descends into the macabre with rare distinction. Hitchcock’s original tale actually serves more as a springboard to jump into something quite different: a complex drama about a young girl’s awakening, in more ways than one.

…occasionally recalls CARRIE in its alignment of teenage emotional angst with violent retribution…

An arresting opening credits sequence (which takes on greater significance by the end) segues into a funeral, where India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) and her mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) are mourning the loss of father/husband Richard. Charlie (Matthew Goode), Richard’s brother, suddenly turns up out of the blue, much to India’s surprise, his existence having been kept a secret from her. The girl, on the cusp of adulthood, is in equal parts resentful towards and fascinated by him, as he wastes no time in taking over the household and seducing Evelyn. But Charlie’s past holds more secrets than India or Evelyn realise.

The connection between uncle and niece grows stronger as time goes on, even hinting at a supernatural dimension to Charlie’s charismatic prowess. Recurring shots of spiders inside and nature outside – in the garden where Charlie cheerfully prowls during the day – suggest a creeping menace snaking its way into the family, and none-too-subtly evoke India’s sexual awakening; STOKER occasionally recalls Brian De Palma’s CARRIE in its alignment of teenage emotional angst with violent retribution. The plot twists that come later push the story into ever darker and bloodier waters, even as credibility reaches breaking point. But this isn’t a film about subtlety or credibility; metaphors are cheerfully dropped like ten ton weights. No, this is a film that rejoices in its potboiler approach, delighting in the grotesque without wallowing in it. It’s an intoxicating brew that you’ll want to sip again.

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