Best Movies Ever had gotten pretty tired of the vampire genre since it had been pretty much ravaged, that is until we saw ‘Stake Land’. ‘Stake Land’ has made us love the vampire movie genre again!
I think most of us have gotten tired of the vampire genre since it’s been used and overused in every way imaginable. We’re not just knocking Twilight either. Whenever a movie comes along to spook a genre (ala ‘Vampires Suck’ which really sucked), you know it’s pretty over for a while or needs a nice long rest. Best Movies Ever felt that away until we saw ‘Jim Mickle’s Stake Land‘ This gave us a little hope for the genre, although after seeing Stake Land we’re more afraid to watch another vampire flick since it will more than likely pale in comparison.
Stake Land is like a mix of ‘The Road’, ‘The Book Of Eli’, ‘The Dark Tower’, ‘I Am Legend’ to whatever else dark bleak film that is good, and what Best Movies Ever loved best is that filmmaker Jim Mickle set out to make a dark bleak horror film and he truly succeeded. He didn’t try the usual tactics that horror movies will try or humor just to lighten up the tension, he wants us to be freaked out and never forget it. Some may say ‘The Stranger’s sucked, but we loved that feel it gave us and Stake Land made us feel the exact same way. Nothing is better than feeling like you have to push back further in your seat or else what’s on screen is going to reach out and pull you in.
So here’s what Stake Land is all about. We’re thrown into a world that’s been overrun by blood-thirsty vampires and follows two survivors (Connor Paolo’s Martin and Nick Damici’s Mister) as they attempt to make their way to a supposed safe zone called New Eden. Not only do our heroes have to fight off nasty vampire, but the usual religious cultists that come about when doomsday happens. Michael Cerveris (we’ve loved him since he played Hedwig in ‘Hedwig And The Angry Inch’) plays the religious psycho role to the hilt without going over the top. That’s just another thing we loved about this movie. Rather than playing it safe, Mickle keeps us feeling unsafe the entire time and unsure what the ending will be for these two guys. I actually loved when the two had to face humans since that seemed to bring on more tension than when they encountered the vampires. It was much like in ‘The Mist’ when the religious zealot became just as dangerous, if not moreso, than what the people were fighting.
Stake Land is only 98 minutes long, but it whips by so fast, you just can’t wait until Mickle makes his next film. I hadn’t seen Mulberry Street, but that’s the next one for me to check out of his. It’s set for an early 2011 release, and Best Movies Ever hopes that it gets even a limited run in theaters rather than just getting pushed out on dvd. Whatever happens, Stake Land is a must must must film for all of you horror fans like us. It’ll even make you like vampires again!
Stake Land Movie Interview Best Movies Ever
The stars and director of this dark vampire-apocalypse road movie share their inspiration and revel in the creative possibilities of independent film making.
‘Stake Land’ – Movie Review
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[...] proven us right. I’ve has gotten kinda tired of the vampire genre, aside from the brilliant Stake Land, which was an exception, so AMC was very smart with bringing Frank Darabont’s The Walking [...]
[...] reviewed Jim Mickle’s ‘Stake Land’ last year, but sadly not many of you will be able to [...]