By Hayley Cowan.

Sometimes I feel like I am in a never-ending game of dodgeball. I am constantly ducking and diving to avoid sequels, remakes, and big budget films that leave me wondering what the budget was actually spent on, other than the overpaid cast. So, on a rainy afternoon in March I was perusing through Empire Magazine’s 50 best films of 2013, sighing heavily at the selection, when their choice of number 6 caught my attention. Stoker.

The film follows the story of India (Wasikowska) whose father dies in mysterious circumstances on her eighteenth birthday. This is shortly followed by the arrival of Uncle Charlie (Goode), who has been estranged from the family for years, who quickly sets himself to consoling India’s recently widowed mother, Evie (Kidman).

What starts as a mostly familiar triangle; mother, daughter and mother’s new lover, starts to blur as the plot begins to take a different course. Tensions rise throughout the film as India becomes more investigatory into Charlie’s dark past, and India’s potential dark future.

The plot is fairly slow moving, the characterisation carries the film. Kidman does an brilliant job of being completely unlikeable as Evie, an unusual role for her. On the contrary, Mia Wasikowska is her usual solemn self, which she delivers with her usual expertise. However the overwhelming success of the film is the casting of Matthew Goode as the role of Charlie.

With his undeniable good looks and charm, Charlie makes for an uneasy watch. As the plot lines blur, so does the audience’s emotions towards Charlie, and this is where this genre-less film becomes completely captivating. I could not tear my eyes away from the screen, despite my horror at what was happening. The most unnerving factor is the mixture of sexuality and violence. The unbuckling of a belt buckle, an intimate moment on a piano stool, a brief passing on the staircase.I felt like I was watching the entire film peeping through the curtains and at any moment I would get caught, but I loved the thrill and it was worth it.

Having never heard of the film previously, I was delighted to have discovered such an unexpected treat. I would go so far as to say I am outraged this didn’t make it higher up the list. Sixth place?! You must be joking, I would watch this over Sandra Bullock hyper-ventilating any day.

Hayley Cowan is a beautiful singer-songwriter, and you can check her out here.