Review of Stake Land (2010) by Michael V — 06 Nov 2011

This will end up being one of the best vampire movies nobody has seen. Pretty much take Zombieland and take out the black comedy and replace zombies with vampires. The blood and gore is blood and gore the way it's suppose to be.

None of that CGI shit. Aside from the fairly frequent jumps, scares and gore, Stake Land feels surprisingly subdued for a recent horror film. With its melancholic tone, ravaging of the religious cults and focus on characters over action makes this film more thoughtful then most in it's genre.

A very nice mournful soundtrack complements the harsh and dead looking world wonderfully. The locations are pretty close to the feel of what they were like in The Road. Grim cold and no chance of hope being around the next bend.

Jim Mickle should be applauded for his direction; the film works very well as a whole, with good performances from the cast, a bleak soundtrack and pacing that could have easily been spoiled by trying to appeal to a bigger blockbuster audience.

It is a brave movie; not overly rushed and taking its time to build to its understated climax.