Stoker (2013)

Stoker parents guide

A few tense moments and a jolt or two, about what an R should carry.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

A couple

One or two sudden jolts.

Gore

Light gore

Some blood or injury, briefly.

Violence

Strong violence

Violence is frequent or intense.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

Language

Mild

Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is Stoker scary?

Only a little. Stoker has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is Stoker?

Light gore and strong violence.

What is Stoker rated, and is it OK for kids?

No. It is rated R, with moderate sex and nudity, and strong violence.

What is Stoker about?

Following her father Richard's death in an unexplained road accident, reclusive teenager India Stoker withdraws further into the quiet rural life she shares with her emotionally disturbed mother Evie. But her curiosity is stirred when her mysterious uncle Charlie, who she has never met, suddenly arrives unannounced. Told that the darkly charismatic Charlie will now be staying at the house, India's initial well-founded distrust of her uncle's motivations begins to waver as she finds herself becoming ever more deeply entranced by his sinister charms.

Cast and crew

More like Stoker

• Psycho (1960)Properly scary · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA woman on the run finds a chilling, atmospheric motel where dread steadily builds to a shocking twist.
• Rear Window (1954)Suspenseful · emotionally heavy · measuredA confined photographer's intimate observations of his neighbors slowly reveal a chilling, atmospheric mystery.
• The Handmaiden (2016)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA cunning pickpocket infiltrates a secluded estate, ensnaring a Japanese heiress in a seductive, suspenseful con.
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)Properly scary · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA brilliant, imprisoned psychopath offers chilling insights into a serial killer's mind, if a young agent dares to listen.
• Shutter Island (2010)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA marshal's investigation into a missing patient unravels amidst chilling visions and a pervasive sense of dread.
• The Sixth Sense (1999)Properly scary · no gore · emotionally heavy · measuredA child psychologist uncovers a boy's chilling secret, weaving a measured tale of suspense and melancholy.
• Rosemary's Baby (1968)Properly scary · no gore · emotionally devastating · a slow burnA young woman's dream of starting a family curdles into a chilling, slow-burn nightmare of urban dread.
• Fight Club (1999)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingAn insomniac and a soap salesman unleash primal aggression, igniting a darkly comic, surreal spiral toward oblivion.

Stoker is on our Horror, not scary; Horror on Max; Thriller on Max; and Sports lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a horror movie that's actually scary”
• “scary but not gory”
• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”

Lists with the same feel: Late night.