When a movie moves slowly it succeeds with me only if at least one of two things exist: 1) There is a twist at the end that makes those slow events meaningful. This is the “Oh!!!! Now I get it” effect. One forgets about the slow wait because the payoff is worth it. Or,
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the tone of the movie is pleasant or engaging in some way. This is the “I am so drawn into this movie” effect. In other words, the viewer is transfixed so the slow pace is enjoyable. There may be spoilers from this point. “Stoker” moves slowly and continues that way until the end in a way is neither pleasurable nor instrumental in leading up to a twist. For me, that’s how this movie lost points, it dragged on for no good reason.
Looking around on the web, I saw this movie has achieved a sort of cult following. It is watchable but none of it is clever, ingenious or, in my opinion, otherwise worthy of cult status. There is likely a backstory someone has sketched out but it’s not worth exploring. It’s referred to as “modern gothic” in tweets and reviews. I call it “modern potential for a good movie.” We have the ancient question of whether killers and hunters are born or made.
We are forced to draw the conclusion that some people have orgasms after being under murder victims. That’s right, you heard correctly. Some people end up insane for no good reason. Perhaps murderous tendencies are genetic. It may intensify when your mother doesn’t care about you. Despite the slowness and enough belt to hang itself, “Stoker” has a great cast and may be worth someone’s time. For that reason I gave it the rating I did: 2 1/2 stars. It’s not a total bomb. It could have been much better. I’d be interested in hearing from fans of this movie.
