Shadow of a Doubt
In addition to screenwriter Wentworth Miller stating that the film was influenced by "Shadow of a Doubt", there are a number of Hitchcock's themes, plot devices and motifs used within it. Both Matthew Goode's character and Joseph Cotten's character in "Shadow of a Doubt" share the name "Uncle Charlie", as well as Hitchcock's use of the likeable criminal. The complexly intertwined relationship that develops between Uncle Charlie and India also references Hitchcock's use of the double with the young Charlie and Uncle Charlie in "Shadow of a Doubt". Many of Uncle Charlie and India's key interactions occur on a staircase, which is a Hitchcock motif also used in "Shadow of a Doubt". There is a pivotal scene in "Stoker" that takes place near a train track and the rumbling train makes an aural intrusion, which plays into Hitchcock's use of trains as a sexual euphemism.