Does Evelyn tell Charlie to stay away from India at the end due to perfectly justifiable maternal concern? Or just because she's jealous that Charlie wants India and not her?
Is Evelyn just a shallow and selfish wife and mother who only cares about living her best life or is she a well-educated if spoiled woman who felt ignored by her husband in favor of her daughter, who openly disdains her, while living in an isolated and rural area where she feels her life is wasting away?
Did India spare Evelyn's life at the end out of the goodness of her heart, or as a form of Cruel Mercy?
Did India mean it when she said she'd go to New York with Charlie, or was she planning to kill all along?
Is Uncle Charlie really corrupting India to be his longed-for companion or is he simply the only person who sees her as she truly is?
Was India's father her morality chain, fully aware of her nature or at least the possibility of it and trying to keep her in check by channeling it through hunting? His comment "Sometimes you need to do something bad to stop you from doing something worse" that India quotes to Evelyn seems to imply it.
Overlooking the incest do Uncle Charlie and India really have any genuine affection for one another? Are they even capable of it? Or do they both simply like having someone who understands them?
Clint Mansell's deeply foreboding score, which heightens the tension and complements the visuals of the film very well.
Philip Glass' contribution to the score, "Duet," is simply stunning.
Emily Wells's end credits song is also quite catchy.
"Becoming..." is a truly astonishing piece, especially as it builds towards the end, perfectly reflecting India's development over the course of the story.
Complete Monster: We are introduced to Uncle Charlie Stoker after the death of heroine India's father. Initially charming and charismatic, Charlie kills the house's caretaker, and then his own aunt after he believes she'll expose him for what he is: A murderer who buried his younger brother alive when he was younger. He even killed his own brother, India's father, and staged his "car accident." He later tries to seduce India and tries to kill her mother.
Diagnosed by the Audience: India exhibits certain aspects similar to forms of autism but the film also implies some of these are actually manifestations of sociopathy.
Draco in Leather Pants: Charlie is an utter monster, being a stalker, a murderer, and a terrifyingly insane Yandere. But he's attractive, charming, and borderline hypnotic to both India and the audience, so a lot of viewers are willing to overlook those little flaws.
Fan-Preferred Couple: What little Stoker fanfiction is out there has India actually ending up with Charlie in the end, rather than having Charlie with his canon "love interest" Evelyn.
Incest Yay Shipping: Yes, there are people that ship India/Charlie. Of course, they are infatuated with one another in canon, but still.
Jerkass Woobie: Evelyn is a neglectful mother, an alcoholic, is shacking up with her husband's brother days after her husband dies, and is generally a stuck-up Rich Bitch but losing her husband in a terrible accident, dealing with a daughter who clearly doesn't like her and being lead on by a man who ends up having an interest in her child instead is already pretty harsh, not even mentioning nearly being murdered and then totally abandoned by her only remaining family afterwards.
Moral Event Horizon: Charlie crossed this a long time ago when he killed his and Robert's younger brother, Jonathan, by burying him alive.
Squick: It's a Park Chan-wook movie, so it is to be expected. One moment that comes to mind is when India remembers the death of Whip Taylor and masturbates to it.
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The movie is ultimately about how a Creepy Uncle seduces his niece into becoming a Sociopath and largely succeeding. To the film's credit it never gets too overbearing thanks to its dark sense of humor.
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