With the backlash against moony, romantic, testicle-free vampires in full swing, let us pause and give thanks to the makers of Stake Land for reminding us how brutal bloodsuckers can be. And you don’t even need a budget to bring them to life: just some take-no-prisoners filmmakers with a keen grasp on what they’re doing. Stake Land takes its cues from classics like Near Dark and George A. Romero’s zombie flicks, but ultimately proves beholden to none of them. It is, at the end of the day, its own animal, and the vampire genre is all the better for it.
It starts with the bloodsuckers themselves, feral beasts closer to Romero’s cannibal undead than Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee. They spread their plague so far and so quickly that civilization quickly collapses, leaving scattered bands of survivors struggling to stay alive. The lucky ones gather together in fortified townships, with high gates and locked doors to keep them safe each night. The rest fall into the hands of religious fanatics like the pseudo-Christian Brethren, who think that the end times are here and use it as an excuse to fire up a modern-day Inquisition. Between them lie countless miles of broken road and the monsters that remind us why we fear the dark.
Through this wasteland come our two protagonists: the hard-as-nails vampire killer Mister (Nick Damici) and his reluctant protégé Martin (Connor Paolo). They search for some form of permanent safety, but can’t trust any single place enough to settle down. Mister has become so consumed with rage that he barely registers as human any more, while Martin wonders whether that brutality is all humanity has left. The bulk of the story follows their slow journey towards redemption, as they gather a de facto family around them and rediscover things worth fighting for.
Damici serves double duty as screenwriter and star, and his performance here is amazing. He’s as unstoppable as Blade, but without the comic book trappings: an eerily plausible example of what someone impossible to kill might look like. His harsh edges hide deep pain of the sort the script is far too smart to talk about overtly, which he turns against vampires and Brethren alike in scenes of intense violence. Director Jim Mickle has learned Romero’s lessons well: the real villains here are not the vamps, but the humans who use harsh times to indulge their own worst instincts. Stake Land ultimately focuses on whether its ostensible hero will join their ranks or find some way to rise above them… and take the innocents with him to safety in the process.
That foundation carries through a seemingly endless wilderness of predators and prey, soaked in gore and surrounded by the bleakest wilderness this side of The Road. Mickle never so much as cracks a smile at the audience, eschewing easy jokes for a plunge into our deepest fears about society’s fragility. Yet neither does he succumb to nihilism; his protagonists fight for more than just survival and the loss of so much brings out the best in them as well as the worst. The film’s explicit scares benefit immeasurably from his efforts, which make impressive use of the barely-there budget. The setting reverberates with plausible desolation – a broken-down heartland far closer to contemporary culture than we’d care to admit -- while the vampires themselves frighten the wits out of us with nothing more than basic prosthetics and some inhuman growls.
The only shame of it is how few people will end up seeing the results. The miniscule amounts of money involved mean a small theatrical release, followed by an also-ran slot in the Netflix cues and a few appearances on late-night cable. That obscurity hides a minor masterpiece: grim, ferocious and full of cinematic life that puts Stephanie Meyer’s calculated soullessness to shame. Keep a sharp eye out for this one; you won’t see its like again soon.
The good ones sometimes fall into obscurity. I like the remark about "Stephanie Meyer's calculated soullessness". To have calculated a piece of shit story trying to look like an epic (Twilight Saga tags) is something only she could do. But put to shame? She was already put to shame - her publisher, too - the second those books were actually published. Sadly, it shames all of Twilight's loyal followers, as well. Too bad they don't realize it.
When I get a chance, I'll check out Stake Land.
Damn, it's not playing anywhere within 50 miles of Indianapolis that I can find.
Will have to keep my eyes open. If it 'takes its cues' from Near Dark then I'm interested!
I'm guessing one reason it's harder to come by is because, and the listing could be incomplete, but Hollywood dot com had it listed as NR.
I mentioned this film earlier in the week in the "Passage" thread. I've read nothing but good things from all that have seeing it on the movie circuit
It's only showing at the IFC Center in Manhattan. I'll be seeing this tomorrow. You guys that don't live in or near the City will have to wait, so sorry.
I'll probably have to wait until it ends up at a redbox nearby to see it. But if it does, I'll definitely check it out.
Be sure to give us your thoughts Wiseguy.
I'll have to keep an eye out if this comes out here.
When I get home from work I will scour my resources for a torrent of it. If I can find one, i will post here and send anyone that wants a private link so i dont get our friends in Mania world into trouble.
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I've not even heard of this movie. I'll have to check it out, see if it's playing in Indy anywhere.