Stoker (2013)

After the sudden death of her father (Dermot Mulroney), a young girl (Mia Wasikowska) is perturbed when an uncle (Matthew Goode) she never knew she had moves in. She is even more disturbed when her mother (Nicole Kidman), barely grieving over the death of her husband, doesn't bother to hide her attraction to Uncle Charlie. That the character is named Uncle Charlie tips us off early on that this is a homage to Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT. But whereas the niece in Hitchcock's film was a wholesome innocent who welcomed her uncle until she discovered his sinister secret, the niece here is no innocent but a loner who resents her uncle's presence until to her horror she discovers, she is indeed her uncle's niece. The first English language film by the Korean director Chan-wook Park (OLDBOY), is a darkly disturbing mixture of sexual discovery and violence (too bad the title THERE WILL BE BLOOD was already taken). There are hints of other influences like De Palma's CARRIE and vampire novels (the film's title is borrowed from Bram) yet the film remains original taking us down a corridor while familiar, we've never walked down before. Goode manages to make Uncle Charlie both repulsive yet fascinating, the lure of unadulterated evil and I continue to be in awe of Kidman's career choices. She batted it out of the ballpark as the Southern white trash prison groupie in last year's THE PAPERBOY and in a radically different performance as the upper crust matron of the manor who can barely disguise her dislike for her daughter, she is no less perfect. Written by the actor turned screenwriter Wentworth Miller (TV's PRISON BREAK), it's the first entry on my 2013 top ten and I suspect it will remain there. With Jacki Weaver (very good) and Phyllis Somerville.