Stake Land

I finally saw 2010's Stake Land and thought to myself, "Man! WHY did I wait so long to see this movie?!" It was great. Really, that's the review in a nutshell - GREAT!

The "real world" vampire film tells the story of Martin, a teen whose whole family is wiped out during the vampocalypes. He's saved by the vampire hunter "Mister" and is trained in the art of vampire killing. A road movie and buddy movie set in a world where the vampire virus has taken control. Sure, that's bad, but the backlash of religious cult leaders like Jebedia Loven may be even worse.








Connor Paolo (Martin), Michael Cerveris (Loven) and Nick Damici (Mister) do some great work in this film. Kelly "Comback" McGillis graces the screen with her presence and it's a sight to behold. She is grand and I'm glad she's doing more genre stuff - she's good at it. And, Danielle Harris has managed to wriggle her cute little self back into my good graces. :::grin:::  After hearing an interview, I was a little bothered by her. It's irrational, of course, but....   So, I saw her and narrowed my eyes waiting to be really bothered. But, it turns out that she did a great job as well and I didn't find her annoying in the slightest. I'll have to revisit some of her other works now that the spell is broken.

I like Jim Mickle as a Director as well. MULLBERY STREET was a lot of fun as well and it's fun to see the progression of his work and art.

The film hits a level that I really love - the "real world" level I spoke about above. It's the same thing that 30 Days of Night did. No, I'm not going to rant about sparklepires or things of that nature. I was going to mention the real world horror styles that make things a little more interesting. It's something people can relate to. What if scenarios that look realistic and not filmic. 28 Days Later instead of Zombieland. Colin instead of Dawn of the Dead. Of course, it's not to say that the film-style versions of these films are not good. They just look more like films and have scenes that are more film style that something you may see in the real world. I loved the approach Stake Land took, showing the vampires as diseased and animalistic with a drive to devour. Fun stuff.

If you have not already seen Stake Land, jump on it. It's rather fantastic. I wish more films like this had a broader release on more screens. Available on Netflix streaming at the time of this posting.