Stake Land (New Indie Vampire Film)

[GreenScar]

This sounds REALLY good. Hope it finds an audience.

I think I found my favorite Midnight Madness film of 2010. Vampires have become an overused, cliched and tired "villain" in genre flicks recently, but that doesn't mean an indie gem can't come along and prove that a great vampire flick can be dark, bloody, and badass once again, and that's exactly what Stake Land does. The best way to describe this would be to say it's like The Road, but not as bleak, and with a vampire epidemic being the cause of the apocalypse. That's an odd reference, but it's exactly what this is like, as it follows a vampire killer and his teen protege as they travel North to "New Eden" fending off nasty vamps.


Stake Land, directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Jim Mickle, follows Martin (Connor Paolo) and his ass kickin' Josh Brolin-lookalike mentor known as "Mister" (Nick Damici), as they journey through a desolate America now overrun by ugly vampires. Along the way they start to collect a few other stragglers, including a "Sister" (Kelly McGillis), a pretty pregnant teen girl (Danielle Harris) and eventually a former marine (Sean Nelson). The vampires in Stake Land are more like zombie-vampire hybrids, who do want to suck on human blood, but are as dumb and vicious as the flesh-hungry undead. Mickle has done a fantastic job of crafting an entire post-apoc world, full of religious tribes and safe havens, and it's fun to see them travel through it.


As his sophomore effort, Mickle has crafted an immensely entertaining, atmospheric, action-filled vampire road movie that does kick some serious ass. Damici, who I've never seen before, steals the show as Mister and is always the guy you're rooting for to kill more vampires as often as possible. I really had no clue what to expect going in, but I loved every last minute of this, even when it takes detours to a few quieter pit stops. There's a bit of a Joss Whedon influence as well with a western vibe to a lot of the scenes, but it still has its own unique style and I'm now a supporter of Jim Mickle. There's an awesome scene where they're in a small town and suddenly helicopters fly in and angry heretics start dropping down live vampires into the streets.


Out of all the midnight movies I've seen in Toronto, Stake Land is one of the few that truly feels and looks much bigger and more expensive than its budget, which is again a testament to its superb direction. There's a great score to go along with all of the gorgeous cinematography, some impressive fight scenes (although Mickle could use a little work improving his action scenes) and at least two strong characters that are easily likable and exciting to follow. It's a kick ass vampire flick that reminds me why we all used to love vampires, especially seeing them get a wooden stake in their heart, and if you want more of that too, don't miss this!

Alex's Toronto Rating: 9 out of 10

[agoofykindasuperman]

It is REALLY good as a matter of fact. It won best pic of the Midnight Madness movies and I highly enjoyed it when I seen it myself. Very cool road/survival/apocalyptic movie.
A lot of care was taken into making this movie and it shows. Definitely made for fans of traditional blood-sucking vamps.
Highly recommended.

[master_8ball]

Saw it on Saturday and loved it, really liked the twist on the vampires being in different stages of post-apocalyptic evolution. Most were dumb and more zombie like while others had a 30 Days of Night feel, all very vicious. The score was melded with the film so well and really did a lot for this movie. As the article above said Nick Damici who played Mister did really well, he co-wrote it too. Both the director and Nick Damici wrote/directed a movie called Mulberry Street a few years ago which I believe was a part of the 8 Films to Die For which was pretty good too.

Best vampire movie I have seen in awhile.

[EricJ]

Stake Land, directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Jim Mickle, follows Martin (Connor Paolo) and his ass kickin' Josh Brolin-lookalike mentor known as "Mister" (Nick Damici), as they journey through a desolate America now overrun by ugly vampires. Along the way they start to collect a few other stragglers, including a "Sister" (Kelly McGillis), a pretty pregnant teen girl (Danielle Harris) and eventually a former marine (Sean Nelson). The vampires in Stake Land are more like zombie-vampire hybrids, who do want to suck on human blood, but are as dumb and vicious as the flesh-hungry undead. Mickle has done a fantastic job of crafting an entire post-apoc world, full of religious tribes and safe havens, and it's fun to see them travel through it.

And let me guess, they're on their way to an amusement park and the Ass-Kicking Mentor has a thing for junk food?

(Think we know what movie somebody's been watching... )

[master_8ball]

Originally Posted by EricJ

And let me guess, they're on their way to an amusement park and the Ass-Kicking Mentor has a thing for junk food?

(Think we know what movie somebody's been watching... )

This movie was nothing like Zombieland.

[ronboster]

I watched the Blu Ray of this couple of nights ago and loved it. Mickle really created an interesting film with the moody daytime road scenes; the beauty of upstate NY and the Americana soundtrack, really worked for me. This is the type of film it's fun to share with others....no one's heard of it and it has an appeal to those outside of the horror fan base.

[master_8ball]

I'm going to pick up the blu soon... Want to see if I made it in the special features with the Q&A at TiFF.

[Ator the Invincible]

Between the positive review on this site and the low price, I just ordered this from Amazon. It's a blind buy, but it seems to be right up my alley. Looking forward to it.