Stake Land

[superhero]

Just for everyone's info, it's a horrorrrrrr

[funthing29]

I'm not a big horror fan but do we think this will be along the lines of The Walking Dead?

[superhero]

Don't think it's the kind of film to take mum along

[a_person]

Looks gross anyway. Who's going? MrGlass perhaps?

[kevinknapman]

It's almost impossible to talk about Stake Land without resorting to that Total Film standby 'meets'. So yes, Stake Land is 'Zombieland meets The Road (with vampires)'. Admittedly those films probably came out after this film went into production but it's a fairly accurate description. Older films it feels similar to at times are the Mad Max movies, or A Boy and his Dog.
So on the surface it is highly derivative but that aside I thought it was surprisingly well-made and strikingly filmed by director and co-writer Jim Mickle.
Another, even more surprising comparison is the work of Terrence Malick. Long shots of nature, a quiet almost lyrical soundtrack and a constant hushed voiceover. Not exactly something you expect to see in a genre movie but it definitely kept it interesting.

The cast was good. Nick Damici's tough hunter and Connor Paolo's innocent teen made a good central duo (Damici also co-wrote the film). There was also good support from Kelly McGillis (looking REALLY old) as a nun, Sean Nelson (The Corner, Fresh) as a war vet and Danielle Harris as a young pregnant woman.

The variety and inventiveness of the vampire attacks kept it fairly fresh. A scene where the religious bad-guys drop vampires into a safe-zone to cleanse it was well done. Could have done without the vampire feeding on the baby at the beginning though which felt a little unnecessary.
It did meander slightly and felt a little longer than it's 98 mins and there were a few schlockier moments that oddly felt a little out of place. The Santa vampire seemed like it belonged in a more comic horror movie. Also the whole subplot about the Brotherhood felt like it was from another movie, especially the final showdown with the crazy religious leader Jebediah played by Fringe's Michael Cerveris. Although this did help to get across it's less than subtle subtext. That man is as dangerous as the vamps.

Overall I thought Stake Land was quite an impressive achievement. Clearly low budget but looking a lot more expensive than it was. I'm definitely looking forward to what Mickle can do with a bigger budget. Not perfect though and not exactly original but I think most horror fans will be able to look past it's flaws and enjoy it as a fun, genre ride.
Oh and any film that has Vetiver and Deer Tick on the soundtrack is fine with me.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

Looks gross anyway. Who's going? MrGlass perhaps?

I would have loved to go, was free too, didnt know of this preview

[soonforgotten]

It's almost impossible to talk about Stake Land without resorting to that Total Film standby 'meets'. So yes, Stake Land is 'Zombieland meets The Road (with vampires)'.

Actually, I said it was as if The Road and Zombieland had a baby and I don't read Total Film

[kevinknapman]

They were responsible for The Adjustment Bureau poster quote 'Bourne meets Inception' and the even worse 'Children of Men meets Taxi Driver' (The Veteran. Yes really. The Veteran).

[soonforgotten]

They were responsible for The Adjustment Bureau poster quote 'Bourne meets Inception' and the even worse 'Children of Men meets Taxi Driver' (The Veteran. Yes really. The Veteran).

I've seen the Adjustment Bureau one but not that The Veteran one. What I don't get is why those films want to bring attention to such comparisons. Combining great films into one film doesn't necessarily mean it'll be any good.

Keeping this on topic though, there was a lot I really enjoyed about Stake Land. Yeah, it was surely low budget, but other than a bit of dodgy make-up here & there, it looked great. The one thing I loved about this film is how dark it is. The conventional wisdow of what characters shouldn't die in a film was tossed out the window [spoiler]Baby? Let's eat it. Little girl? Killer her. Pregnant supporting character? Torture and kill her as bait. Christianity? Trash it.[/spoiler] I enjoyed the story a lot, and yes, it did remind me a lot of The Road (which even if it was in production by the time The Road was released, the book has been around for five years and dynamic of the lead characters is quite similar between the two. From the lack of a real name for the father-figure to [spoiler]the end, when the son comes of age and must go onwards without him (and with the aid of a new family, in this case just the girl from the bar)[/spoiler], I would be surprised if neither Nick Damici or Jim Mickle have read The Road. I thought the twist with the zombie vampires was interesting and I liked that there were different types. What wasn't made very clear was exactly how the infections spread. It seemed some victims are just killed and others are turmed into vamps.

The performances were all solid to strong and it's a very well directed piece. The cinematography is great, most of the sites were perfect and the score was fantastic. There's so much I like about this film that the glaring issues with it really bum me out. One such matter is the character of Martin. There isn't much development of him, other than him becoming great at killing vampires. Despite him narrating the story along the way, the viewer doesn't get much insight into who he is and how he feels. Being able to connect more emotionally with his character would go a long way. The other issues involve Mister. [spoiler]When he is captured and left to be killed by the vamps, how the hell does he overcome all of them? We see him take out one, but there are still four others. When he turns up alive, the audience is expected to just accept that somehow he managed. I'm bothered by that. I'm all for suspense, but that didn't work since I felt that he surely wasn't going to die at point anyway. It just seems as if the film-makers couldn't figure out how Mister overcomes those odds either so they decided to let the audiences' leave it to their own imagination. My other qualm is Mister leaving. What. The. Hell? I did not get that at all. If someone did, please explain it to me.[/spoiler]

So overall, I'll go 7.5/10. I'd like to go higher, but I think I like it more than it is good, if that makes sense.

[kevinknapman]

The other issues involve Mister.

[spoiler]Re: Mister leaving. I think it was the mentor realising he had nothing else to teach his student about surviving in the world. When he sees Martin run out to kill the vampire on his own to impress the girl he realised he was no longer needed. With most father/son type relationships, there has to come a time when the younger man has to make his own way in the world. I guess that's what they were trying to get at. It doesn't make complete sense in that context obviously as they were clearly safer sticking together but still.[/spoiler]