Review of Stake Land (2010) by Nesbitt10 — 04 Jul 2013

"Stake Land" has strong characters, a lucid script, plenty of action, and something more substantial which elevates this film from the rest of the pack.

America is a lost nation. When an epidemic of vampirism strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities are tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin ("Gossip Girl's" Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (Nick Damici) whose new prey is the Undead.

Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America's heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travellers, including a nun (Kelly McGillis) who is caught in a crisis of faith when her followers turn into ravenous beasts. This ragtag family unit cautiously moves north, avoiding major thoroughfares that have been seized by The Brethren, a fundamentalist militia headed by Jebedia Loven (Michael Cerveris) that interprets the plague as the Lord's work.

The film has the feel of "The Walking Dead" with vampires in place of zombies. With limited resources, it is nicely realized and a impressive level of authenticity is achieved. There are no stand out individual performances, but uniformly the cast does a fine job. Nice pacing backed by an equally fine musical score. A refreshingly unique horror film that achieves on all fronts, even if Canada is the final destination.