Stake Land is a movie with such power that it’s difficult to put into words what makes it hit so hard. Its basic premise is far from original; some unforeseen plague has turned most of the population into vampires. People live in small groups—or alone, without law enforcement—or the military, to protect them. Basically—it’s everyone for themselves.
So far, no one seems to know whether a cure or remedy has been found, or even worked on. No media is left to give people that news…or any other news.
Probably the closest movie to Stake Land is the great road movie The Road. But I don’t want to write a point by point, compare-and-contrast between that and Stake Land. (So many other movies you can use as comparisons, even the horror/comedy Zombie Land.) Many others can surely stand on their own. Many even portray a similar theme—strong father/son relationships growing as the journey continues.
I expect not everyone will love the dialogue and voice-overs as much as I did. Especially people who don’t like Westerns—an inspiration for much of it. The main characters—Mister and Martin, father-figure and foster son, rescue a nun who’s trying hard to hold onto her faith after rape and more violence. “How many of those things did you kill?” she asks.
“Not enough.”
“What about him? He’s just a boy.”
“Yeah. A live one.”
Martin’s family are killed only minutes into the movie. Mister shows him all he can about protecting himself—his number one priority in this savage land. In an early scene he puts a football helmet and shoulder pads on Martin and shows him how to use a sword. Martin’s a fast learner. So many times you sense he is watching Mister—what he says, what he does in order to survive. Early in the movie their road is blocked—not just a truck but an actual freight train. But Mister knows his ticket out—prescription drugs, exchanged for escape. “People just trying to go home,” you hear on the voice-over. Not exactly lyrical but so poetic at this moment.
Another time, speakers blaring an Evangelical message from a pick-up truck, then a young woman hanging dead from a tree. “In desperate times, false gods abound.”
But Martin learns from Mister’s generosity too. They rescue a nun, then a woman in her final month of pregnancy. No hidden motives on Mister’s part. Martin can see it—Mister has clearly not lost his faith in humankind.
Another part of Mister—unhesitating courage. In one town, Mister talks about heading north. A man advises against it—rumors of cannibals in the north. (One of the scariest parts in The Road.) “Fuck the cannibals”, Mister tells him.
The music in Stake Land is nothing sophisticated but works with great effectiveness. You will find yourself noticing the music various times, as you stare at the wastelands and the dead sprawled out around the roads and the ruined towns the characters pass through. If I had to sum up what the music conveys, I would mention the sense of loss people are experiencing. Their wish to recover what they have lost. Life before was no paradise but people are starving for it. They want it back…they want it so bad.
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