When it comes to horrors and thrillers,sometimes you don't need to look beyond the film's music to judge the quality, as almost every classic horror that comes to mind brings with it a memorable score; or at least a few striking notes, as Bernard Hermann's orchestral stabs from Psycho well prove. The themes from Jaws, Halloween and The Exorcist are as easily recognizable as any pop song from the last fifty years, and even Friday the 13's iconic breathy notes are unforgettable. Not that the work of South Korean director Chan-wook Park can be forgotten any easier.
His latest film, Stoker is a psycho-sexual mystery hinging on secrecy and mistrust, and has the talented and frequent Darren Aronofsky-collaborator Clint Mansell doing the composing. But Spin has released a solo piano track from the film performed by the near-legendary Philip Glass. While Mansell uses frequent aural motifs that build upon each other until its peak is wildly intoxicating, as seen Requiem for a Dream, Glass’ “Duet” packs a handful of emotions into less than three minutes.
Spin reports the track plays “a pivotal role in the film’s agonizing pas de deux of lust and cruelty.” And one would expect no less from Park, whose Vengeance Trilogy, including Lady Vengeance and Oldboy, reinvigorated the revenge flick while also making other titles in the genre pale in comparison. No doubt Stoker will contain a handful of scenes that may make casual filmgoers shade their eyes. But at least the beautiful music will be there to accompany them.
Stoker, Park’s first U.S. feature, stars Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) as a girl whose father dies on her 18th birthday, leaving her and deranged mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) on their own - at least until a previously unheard of Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) arrives to care for them. Mia doesn’t trust her “uncle,” and slowly becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about him. If this film doesn’t end with three majorly violent deaths, I’ll be as surprised as anyone. Stoker hits theaters across the country on March 1, 2013.
