Review of Stake Land (2010) by Liam U — 17 Sep 2011

Alright, let's just get the elephant out of the room: This is not as good as Zombieland. While Stake Land is, essentially, Zombieland played straight and with vampires, the film struggles to spill fresh blood. While the plot is incredibly familiar, one can't help that it's all a little average. Nick Damici isn't as good as Woody Harrelson (despite practically playing the same character) and Connor Paolo isn't as good as Jese Eisenberg (despite practically playing the same character). The film draws its inspiration from both vampire and zombie films, which is an interesting idea, but the threat never feels particularly palpable.

That said, the film is watchable and Danielle Harris helps somewhat. Kelly McGillis also brings an interesting character to the table, and the themes of religion (which is a theme inherently tied in with vampire mythology) goes in an intriguing direction. Unfortunately, Michael Cerveris as the big bad was not very good. Some missed opportunities result in a film that is okay, but hardly memorable.