Stake Land Blu-ray Review
Just another post-apocalyptic monster movie, or something new?
Reviewed by Casey Broadwater, August 3, 2011
We've been over-inundated with bleak, post-apocalyptic movies in the last few years--I predict this trend to wither to a crisp after 2012 comes and
goes uneventfully--but let me recommend one more:
Stake Land. As you can probably infer from the title, it's a vampire film, but the fanged
ones featured here are a far cry from the sexy, frequently shirtless vamps in
True Blood and
Twilight. These animalistic bloodsuckers
would sooner rip out your aorta than "glamour" you into bed, and they have more in common with the rabid "infected" of
28 Days Later than
the decadently noble immortals of Bram Stoker lore. But what's really different about
Stake Land is its tone. Where most vampire/zombie films
are high on bloodletting action and explosions of gore, this one is more restrained, steeped in quiet despair for an America that once was and will never
be again. It takes its main cues from the end-of-the-world loneliness of Cormac McCarthy's
The Road, and it features somber voice-over
narration that wouldn't feel out of place in a Terrence Malick movie. I want to be careful not to oversell the film--it's not perfect, and it's nowhere near
as profound as its key influences--but it
is a strikingly original departure from the typical horror landscape of remakes, reboots, and mindless
teen-oriented slasher pictures.
America has fallen and fractured in the wake of a vampiric epidemic.
Stake Land gives us precious few clues about the origin of this plague--
and, like the unnamed scourge from
The Road, it doesn't really matter--instead throwing us directly into the aftermath, a country where
pockets of survivors band together in walled-off towns, where the burnt-out husks of cars litter the highways, and where religious blood cults lay claim
to vast stretches of territory, converting, raping, or killing anyone who wanders through. And, of course, when night falls the vamps come out to
devour and destroy. These literally cold-blooded killing machines aren't your typical sanguinary feeders. They have the grotesque faces of the
Evil
Dead's possessed, and they act more like zombies--dumb but vicious, hungry and single-minded. They are, however, susceptible to the usual
vampire disposal methods, namely, a wooden stake through the heart. (Although we learn that older vamps, known as "berserkers," can only be killed
by penetrating the base of the skull.) Our guides through this ravaged world are Martin (Connor Paolo), a teenager whose parents were killed in the
initial attacks, and the vamp-hunter who saved his life and took him as an apprentice, a grizzled and taciturn old coot who simply goes by "Mister."
(Nick Damici) Mister has trained up "the boy" in the ghoul-killing arts, and together they're heading north in a beat-up Mercury sedan to New Eden, a
promised land that they're hoping actually exists.
Stake Land, then, is essentially a road movie which finds these two characters changing subtly in response to the journey they take together,
a trip punctuated by violent episodic encounters and brief moments of hope and love. For Martin, it's a coming-of-age adventure, and Mister, like
Rooster Cogburn in
True Grit, learns to have a kind of begrudging affection for his young charge. Their interactions are nearly wordless, but
Paolo and Damici--who has a Charles Bronson-meets-John Wayne thing going on--share a strong and believable rapport. Along the way, they pick up a
few stranded survivors and form a makeshift family of sorts. A nun (Kelly McGillis) saved from sexual assault becomes a surrogate mother for Martin, a
homeward-bound ex-Marine (Sean Nelson) joins their unit, lending some much-appreciated firepower, and a reluctant Mister allows a pregnant barmaid
(Danielle Harris) to tag along, even though he knows she'll inevitably slow them down. The vampires are a constant threat, but it's the humans--like in
a Romero zombie movie--who are ultimately the more dangerous foes. A band of rapture-happy fundamentalists called The Brethren prowls the
Appalachian hills in burlap hoods, burning crosses KKK-style and taking women as sex slaves. Their bald-headed leader, Jebediah Loven (Michael
Cerveris), is the film's central villain, a devious extremist who believes the vamps are God's way of purifying the nation. The bastard's even known to
drop bloodsuckers into safe-towns via helicopter.
Director Jim Mickle (
Mulberry Street) and producer Larry Fessender (
House of the Devil) do a lot with a relatively minuscule budget.
The cinematography and art direction, in particular, are excellent. Shooting in the economically depressed wilds of Pennsylvania--where much of
The Road was filmed--they capture areas that don't need much set dressing to look suitably post-apocalyptic, from abandoned railways to coal
towns that appear to be crumbling in on themselves. This naturally amplifies the film's not-so-subtle subtext about America's seemingly impending
downfall, with echoes of financial ruin and religious fanaticism. Mickle has an axe to grind, but at least he gets it sharp. His general approach to the
material is impressive; he provides plenty of the expected vampire-slaying action--there's enough gurgling bloodshed here to keep most gorehounds
happy--but
Stake Land also feels more thoughtful than your average horror movie. The character are well-defined and inspire empathy--even
if the acting from the supporting players isn't always the greatest--and the atmosphere is surprisingly mature, wistful for a bygone era. Mickle takes
this too far at times, as Martin's narration gets a bit flowery and self-serious, but I appreciate it when a "genre" filmmaker goes above and beyond the
expected to deliver a film that stands out from the horror norm.
Stake Land is a true rarity these days--a vampire film that doesn't suck.
Stake Land Blu-ray, Video Quality
There was a time when all low-budget horror movies were grimy and grainy, shot on cheapo film stock with less-than-ideal equipment, but that age has
just about come to its end. With the advent of the Red One digital camera, video-shooting DSLRs like the Canon 5D Mark II, and similar rigs, indie
filmmakers can now get the look of a bigger production for a fraction of the cost.
Stake Land is a great example. Shot in 4K with the Red
camera, the film features a digital-to-digital 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's lush, detailed, and nearly noiseless. 35mm cinematography will always
hold a special place in my analog-loving heart, but let's face it--digital is the future.
Stake Land looks great. There are a few soft shots, mostly
related to slightly imprecise focus, but the level of clarity in general is excellent. Facial features are finely resolved, cloth and other surfaces display visible
texture, and the landscape shots have crisp definition without looking artificially sharpened. The digital color grading is also effective, alternating between
a warm cast with creamy highlights and cool, ominous blues. Black levels and contrast are perfect during the daytime scenes, and although the
nighttime sequences can look a bit crushed, this is probably unavoidable and maybe intentional. Source noise, however, is only rarely noticeable, and
there are no overt compression issues.
Stake Land Blu-ray, Audio Quality
Stake Land comes with two audio options, a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 mix. Both
are capable and sound excellent, but if you've got a home theater system, you'll definitely want to stick with the 5.1 presentation, as the rear channels
are used frequently in the film to strong effect. From the very first frames you'll hear cicadas buzzing in the surrounds and Mister's car making a slow
swoosh from front to back. Ambient sound often adds to the sense of immersion--rain pours down heavily, a creepy hymn blares from the background,
and a generator roars to life. Elsewhere, the surrounds are used for whipping helicopter blades, loud gunshots, and the screams of the undead or dying.
The subwoofer activates several times to provide an undercurrent of dread. What makes the mix, though, is Jeff Grace's moody score, which sometimes
evokes the
28 Days Later soundtrack, but also has its own distinct sound, alternating between quiet piano-and-string arrangements and more
driving, percussive themes. The music and the effects sound full-bodied and clear. Dialogue is easily understood too, and only rarely gets muddled in the
mix. The disc comes with optional English SDH subtitles.
