First of all, I will say that the DVD cover (or poster) doesn't really do the movie much justice. I had some initial hesitation about sitting down to watch it because of that, as it looked like some of the questionable movies that Mickey Rourke made during his dark period. But still, I did sit down to watch it eventually.
That being said, then I should also say that it was nice to see a vampire movie where the vampires weren't glorified and romanticized. The vampires in "Stake Land" didn't have big hair, shiny and sparkling skin, nor were they beautiful beyond mortal standards. The vampires in this movie were beastly, savage and feral. Oddly enough, though, they sort of looked like zombies quite often, which I found to be a great approach to vampires. One thing I didn't particularly like though, was the guttural growl that they were emitting, a sound that you'd hear from big feline hunters, a sound that the human throat is in no way capable of reproducing. That sound was a bit misplaced here.
The story was quite good, being set in a bleak, apocalyptic USA. Vampires have spread like a disease and left most of USA barren for life and sent the survivors scattering and huddling in small make-shift settlements. Mister (played by Nick Damici) have taken Martin (played by Connor Paolo) under his wing after Martin's parents were brutally slaughtered by vampires. They are heading from the southern parts of USA, making their way to the north, heading for New Eden.
I enjoyed the feel of the movie, because you really got the feeling of hopelessness and isolation. Plus, the way the movie was shot was really nice to look at, lots of great usage of the camera here. And there was a distinct feel of it being a desolate apocalyptic nation to it, something like it was taken right out of the "Fallout" games.
Despite it having a nice enough movie, there were times, though, when the story was moving ahead at snail speed, where I wished it would just speed up and get on with it. But in overall, the movie was able to support these moments by making up for it with other stuff. Another moment of irritation, for me at least, was when the group was up in the highlands of the mountains and found out a vampire was stalking them, it was really anti-climatic and stupid when they found out what it was (or actually who it was) that was stalking them. There was no logic to that turn of events - why would he have survived, and just how was he able to track them?
If you are tired of the teenage vampires who have been put on pedestals because they are so romantically-inclined, so attractive and because they have muscular (and oil covered) bodies, big hair, and sparkly skin, then give "Stake Land" a go. The vampires here are quite the opposite, and you won't find any of that mindless teenage love-nonsense here.
That being said, then I should also say that it was nice to see a vampire movie where the vampires weren't glorified and romanticized. The vampires in "Stake Land" didn't have big hair, shiny and sparkling skin, nor were they beautiful beyond mortal standards. The vampires in this movie were beastly, savage and feral. Oddly enough, though, they sort of looked like zombies quite often, which I found to be a great approach to vampires. One thing I didn't particularly like though, was the guttural growl that they were emitting, a sound that you'd hear from big feline hunters, a sound that the human throat is in no way capable of reproducing. That sound was a bit misplaced here.
The story was quite good, being set in a bleak, apocalyptic USA. Vampires have spread like a disease and left most of USA barren for life and sent the survivors scattering and huddling in small make-shift settlements. Mister (played by Nick Damici) have taken Martin (played by Connor Paolo) under his wing after Martin's parents were brutally slaughtered by vampires. They are heading from the southern parts of USA, making their way to the north, heading for New Eden.
I enjoyed the feel of the movie, because you really got the feeling of hopelessness and isolation. Plus, the way the movie was shot was really nice to look at, lots of great usage of the camera here. And there was a distinct feel of it being a desolate apocalyptic nation to it, something like it was taken right out of the "Fallout" games.
Despite it having a nice enough movie, there were times, though, when the story was moving ahead at snail speed, where I wished it would just speed up and get on with it. But in overall, the movie was able to support these moments by making up for it with other stuff. Another moment of irritation, for me at least, was when the group was up in the highlands of the mountains and found out a vampire was stalking them, it was really anti-climatic and stupid when they found out what it was (or actually who it was) that was stalking them. There was no logic to that turn of events - why would he have survived, and just how was he able to track them?
If you are tired of the teenage vampires who have been put on pedestals because they are so romantically-inclined, so attractive and because they have muscular (and oil covered) bodies, big hair, and sparkly skin, then give "Stake Land" a go. The vampires here are quite the opposite, and you won't find any of that mindless teenage love-nonsense here.