Stake Land

Having had a successful run at midnight movie showings, I wasn't expecting much seriousness from a movie entitled "Stake Land." But I was pleasantly surprised by this bleak and well-made creature feature in which man might be the most dangerous enemy left. In truth, there are very few elements within the film that haven't been utilized abundantly in other movies--but despite their familiar nature, "Stake Land" is still quite effective on its own terms. Well acted, suspenseful, and with good effects--I'd say this has the potential to be a sleeper hit on the DVD market as more people become familiar with it. Cobbling plot points from sources as diverse as Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" to "Zombieland" to almost everything in between, the film has a surprising heft and gravitas that distinguishes it from other noticeably lighter genre fare.

Cinema's fascination with a post-apocalyptic world continues here as the movie is set in a time where an epidemic of vampirism has extinguished most of the human race. In reality, this plays much more like a zombie epic and that's truthfully what it is. The creatures have pointy teeth, but the script follows the conventions you'd expect from an outbreak of the reanimated. A rogue warrior travels the land with a teenage companion as the two try to make it to a rumored land of safety called New Eden. Along the way, they meet threats of all sorts and even pick up a few stragglers. Whole towns of survivors are barricaded and fortified against the monster menace. But perhaps the most alarming enemy are the new religious zealots who see the vampires as vengeance against the wicked. In a land overtaken by lawlessness, monsters may be the easiest foe to fight.

The script is tidy and provides a narration that is haunting and well done. Nick Damici (who also has a screenwriter credit) plays the enigmatic hero and Connor Paolo is his protege. Both are believable and sympathetic, and they develop an effective chemistry that grounds the picture. A supporting cast that includes Kelly McGillis, Sean Nelson, and Danielle Harris further make this a movie in which you actually care about the characters! In many ways, the vampires are secondary to the human story of survival and hope in the midst of mayhem. The creatures are well done and the effects are solid--but again, I was more sold on the human drama than anything else. Surprisingly good overall--made all the more remarkable because of my admittedly low expectations. Why this wasn't released on a larger scale, I'm not sure. But if you like zombies, vampires, and/or post-apocalyptic drama--this checks all the requisite boxes. KGHarris, 6/11.

Now this is a vampire movie. Stake Land is an effort from director Jim Mickle, who previously helmed a bleak and understated horror flick called Mulberry Street a few years back, which still ranks as probably the best film to ever come out carrying the After Dark Horrorfest banner. With Stake Land, Mickle presents to us an apocalyptic wasteland that the vamps are terrorizing and feeding off of. For teenager Martin (Connor Paolo), his means of survival are being accompanied by the mysterious Mister (Mulberry Street star Nick Damici) as they come across various other survivors (including Kelly McGillis and genre stalwart Danielle Harris) and an insane religious cult while attempting to make their way to the supposedly untouched land of New Eden. Violent, scary, and unapologetically bleak; Stake Land is the kind of horror film that we don't see much of anymore, which in itself is a crying shame. It pulls no punches and even when it offers a glimmer of hope, it seems so far away that you will be on the edge of your seat to see if our heroes make it or not. While the film isn't without its flaws, most notably being that various characters appear and are introduced with little in the way of character development to boot, this is undoubtedly the best vampire film I've seen in quite some time. All in all, give Stake Land a chance, there's a reason why there's been so much hype built around it for a while now, and you won't be disappointed with what you get here either.

Stake Land is the perfect example of a low budget movie that is amazingly superior to similar apocolyptic vampire films with high budgets ("Priest," "Day Breakers," etc). Best compared as "The Road" meets "30 Days of Night," it's a very intense film that grabs you early and does not let you go.

A teenage boy (maybe 15-16 years old) is rescued by a "lone warrior" from a vampire attack that leaves his entire family dead. The lone warrior (sort of a cross between Wesley Snipe's "Blade" with a badass Mickey Rourke attitude) teaches the boy how to fight and kill vampires as they travel up north to find the salvation city of "New Eden." They pick up a handful of fellow travellers along the way and they slowly become a "family" of sorts. These characters (particularly the "lone warrior") are stereotypical yet developed enough to not come across as cheesy or cliche. Not only do the travellers have to worry about vampires, as mankind may be even more dangerous: rapists, killers, psychos, and murderous religious fanatics- who are a combination of all these things.

As you can see, the plot is not overly original. However, what it lacks in originality it makes up for with other strong qualities: the acting is solid and the movie itself is bleak as hell. As the film goes on, the elements of helplessness and doom escalates with a terrifically sad violin music score. And it only gets bleaker as it goes on. No sexy teen vamps that sparkle in sunlight, here, folks. The vampires are refreshingly gross and creepy with rotting skin and animalistic behaviour. The scenes with the religious cult leader are frightening, making you wonder which is worse: vampires or mankind.

Even with its low budget, Stake Land runs circles around similar movies that have much higher budgets. The story is a very solid road movie (think of a very serious "Zombieland") that is bleak, dismal, and very well made. There is plenty of action in the movie, but its not overly gorey. There is more story than action, which is why this movie is elevated above your standard action fare: while there are horror elements in the movie, I'd classify it as a "dark drama" and not a "horror" movie.

PQ is actually very good (which I truley wasn't expecting). Colors don't pop off the screen and the blacks aren't entirely inky- there's some crush / noise in there- but overall a very pleasant looking film.

If you enjoy end of the world movies and/ or vampire movies, you should definitely check this movie out. There are admittedly a few scenes here and there where the low budgetness of the movie shows, but overall this is well worth watching. It also wouldn't hurt to have a lighter-hearted movie to pop in when this one ends: this is pretty bleak stuff, but a road worth travelling down.

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