STAKE LAND
Directed by: Jim Mickle
Written by: Jim Mickle and Nick Damici
Starring: Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Danielle Harris and Kelly McGillis
Quickly, name a genre that’s become tired and stale! Did you say zombie movies? If so, you are correct. As much as I love them, there hasn’t been an honest-to-God original and ground-breaking zombie film since Danny Boyle’s masterpiece 28 DAYS LATER. While it’s a fun genre, seeing retreads of the same ideas over and over can get tedious. So why try unless you’ve got something completely fresh?
As STAKE LAND proves, you don’t have to reinvent the genre to make a good movie.
Let’s make this clear: STAKE LAND isn’t technically a zombie film. While our heroes in the movie live in a post-apocalyptic America and battle blood thirsty infected, they are actually fighting vampires. The beasts move and act like zombies but they burn up in the sun and have those famous fangs. A bloodsucker by any other name…
However, there are a lot of zombie movie staples in STAKE LAND. Our lead character narrates the tale with a sometimes tedious voice over, a small group of survivors band together then slowly fall apart, there’s a promised “safe zone” that everyone heads for. These are all things we’ve seen before. Yet, STAKE LAND does it all so well and has so much spirit that it’s head-and-shoulders above most zombie films. It’s as if the film makers know it’s all been done before but they love the genre so much that they’re going to do it once again anyway.
The film has two leads, Connor Paolo as Martin and Nick Damici (who also wrote the movie) as his nameless protector, Mister. After the end of the world, Martin and Mister take to the road in hopes of finding a place that’s uninfected and safe. From there, the movie is a typical road-trip tale as they meet new survivors, run into villainous clans and roam through the remnants of a dead society.
For every tired cliche in STAKE LAND, there’s a refreshing aspect to admire. One of the best parts of the film is The Brotherhood, a dangerous cult of religious fanatics who believes the vampires were sent by God to cleanse Earth. Again, this is something we’ve seen in previous films and video games but it’s played so adamantly in STAKE LAND that it’s a welcome addition. Aside from that, there are some genius action sequences featuring the night walkers, including a particularly effective one with vampires literally being thrown from a helicopter in a case of biowarfare in the post-apocalyptic world.
Sequences and characters like the ones mentioned above show how much energy and effort Mickle and Damici put into their movie. There are occasional moments in STAKE LAND that feel unnecessary, a rather bland opening sequence featuring the end of Martin’s family and the inevitable “these monsters are evolving” moment come to mind. Yet, even these don’t detract from the film too much because they are delivered with a lot of spirit and enthusiasm. Nothing in STAKE LAND feels like a cheap add-on, everything is deliberate and truly desired by film makers who wanted to fill their movie to the brim with genre staples.
That desire to do so much leads to some problems for the film. The biggest mis-steps lie in the pacing and length of the movie. As fun as it is, STAKE LAND drags in places and some scenes don’t feel necessarily connected, just thrown together in order to touch all the bases. A climatic showdown between a new advanced vampire and our heroes feels like a great conclusion to the movie. Oddly enough though, there’s still quite a bit of time after that scene. These errors aren’t enough to ruin the film but enough to raise your eyebrow and wonder why Mickle and Damici let it slide. Sadly, another weak link of the film is the look of the vampires themselves. More BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER than DAWN OF THE DEAD, the bloodsuckers have an odd look to their faces with prosthetic bone structures and enhanced features. Considering we only see a couple of the vampires close up this isn’t too big of a deal but it’s still a little disappointing.
Surprisingly, the relatively low budget doesn’t affect the movie. We don’t ever see entire cities destroyed by the vampire plague but rather empty back roads and deserted small towns. That’s a smart move because it makes the canvas smaller and allows more time with our characters instead of big set pieces.
Despite its flaws STAKE LAND is welcome addition to the dead (no pun intended) genre. Effective performances, inspired ideas and a strong knowledge of the genre give us a movie that is already close to any horror fan’s heart. There’s something so refreshing about a movie that doesn’t try to be something it’s not. STAKE LAND knows it’s a violent, straightforward horror film and doesn’t hide it. In essence, STAKE LAND is really a thesis on the zombie movie genre as a whole. It takes what we love about it and reminds us how fun it can be.
4 out of 5
