Stoker

Writes R Kurt Osenlund in Slant Magazine: Stoker, of course, marks Chan-wook's English-language debut, and his most buzzed-about work since Oldboy. Co-penned by Prison Break heartthrob Wentworth Miller, it explores the sordid secrets of one very dysfunctional family, whose fan-the-flames surname gives the film its title. The poster, it would seem, depicts a gnarled family tree, dressed with brooding glances, angry birds, and skeletons from closets. If the film's synopsis is any indication, the coffin at the image's base holds the body of Richard Stoker (Dermot Mulroney), father to India (Mia Wasikowska) and husband to Evelyn (Kidman). The film's events surround what happens after Richard's death, and thus this tree's branches sprout outward from his corpse, tangling themselves in what one can only surmise are details of the plot. Naturally, the shovel points to foul play, which seems to follow India's visiting uncle, Charlie (Matthew Goode), who's enigmatically relegated to a blink-and-miss limb at top left. Did Charlie kill Richard? Does his lack of prominence suggest he's not really a member of this family? His sunglass-covered gaze is nearly as menacing as that spider, which dangles just beside the shovel, and seems to be this movie's creeping motif of dread (the trailer sees it crawl within the frame repeatedly). The implications of the shoes, piano, gift, and cake are anyone's guess, but odds are there's much familial innocence and artifice being shattered, be it due to Charlie's danger, India's grief, or Evelyn's cruelty ("I can't wait to watch life tear you apart," Kidman memorably growls to Wasikowska in the trailer).
More here.

Written by Wentworth Miller (yes, the Prison Break guy) and starring Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode, everything we’ve seen of Stoker thus far looks incredible. Dark, creepy and atmospheric, the plot concerns a family torn apart when Nicole Kidman’s husband dies in a car accident, only for his mysterious brother to turn up and begin drawing Kidman to him and – more significantly – her daughter, as played by Mia Wasikowska. While the promo material has kept its cards close to its chest, it’s a fair bet that there’s more to Matthew Goode’s Uncle Charlie than meets the eye… Chan-wook Park is a great director, and it looks like the switch to the English language hasn’t tempered his creative flair (just witness that gorgeous transition from hair to grass in the trailer), and with a classy cast and what seems to be an effectively dark supernatural psych-drama of a plot from Miller, Stoker looks like it might be something of a surprise package come March 1st 2013, when it’s released.
More here.

Wentworth Miller wrote the screenplay for Stoker, as well as a prequel, Uncle Charlie. He used the pseudonym Ted Foulke, later explaining "I just wanted the scripts to sink or swim on their own." Miller's script was voted to the 2010 "Black List" of the 10 best unproduced screenplays making the rounds in Hollywood. Miller described it as a "horror film, a family drama and a psychological thriller." Although influenced by Bram Stoker's Dracula, Miller clarified that Stoker was "not about vampires. It was never meant to be about vampires but it is a horror story. A stoker is one who stokes, which also ties in nicely with the narrative." Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt also influenced the film. Miller said: "The jumping off point is actually Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. So, that's where we begin, and then we take it in a very, very different direction."
More here.

The Trailer Here.