Stake Land - Twilight, it is not - good it is

Cast aside any notion of nice, pretty-boys twinkling vampires and replace them with old school vampy monsters, more akin to zombies with snarling, distorted faces and a distinct inability in dying (properly, you understand). However, despite being an unashamed monster movie, Stake Land feels surprisingly subdued for a recent horror film. With its melancholic tone, ravaging of the religious right and focus on characters over action, the film succeeds in being a bit more thoughtful than many of its contemporaries. With fairly few jumps or scenes that are likely to scare a grizzled horror fan, Stake Land is easier to recommend for its realistic world-building, mournful soundtrack and interesting, well-drawn characters.

As a boy Martin was orphaned when his whole family was eaten by a vampire, but he survived by being taken under the wing of enigmatic father figure and teacher, Mister. The film goes on at an unusually slow pace and painstakingly constructs a very authentic feeling vision of post-apocalyptic America. Guarded communities living in fear while supplies dwindle, drinking and sleeping together in packed bars until the sun rises and religious nuts taking over the wilderness to rape and murder as they please.

The film is most memorable for its details of life after the vampires take over. The small communities that have popped up round the country feel realistic and lived in. A sense of community, as if the vampire apocalypse may help America return to a simpler, more caring time.

Stake Land is a very well made film and can be enjoyed as a simple horror film but also as an experience of a post-apocalyptic society and the highs and lows of living in a world with a drastically reduce population.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one