Stoker is not a satisfying moviegoing experience, which isn't to say that it's a bad piece of cinema. If you go to the movies expecting a story (and I generally do), you might feel underserved. But if you're moved by style, performance and mood for their own sake, there's much to like in this off-key, slow boil tale of suspense.

Turning one of our most revered and dignified presidents into an action hero in service of a schlocky horror concept sounds like sacrilege. It's startling how much admiration the filmmakers seem to have for the great man, even as they have him slashing armies of the undead with a silver-coated ax.