STAKE LAND

In a post-apocalyptic world invaded by vampires, Martin is a boy who has lost his family due to the bloodsuckers. Mister, after saving him, takes him along to New Eden, the only city still alive and resisting the attacks of the undead. The two travel together supporting and defending each other, but the journey will be far from easy. It is not uncommon that in a post-apocalyptic world, when telling the story of a pair of survivors, one falls back on the choice of proposing a pair composed of a rough and "cazzuto" man and a boy, externally more frail and defenseless but with a strength of mind and courage that, in the end, will prove clearly superior to his counterpart. Woody Harrelson and Michael Cera had to deal with zombies in "Welcome to Zombieland," Viggo Mortensen and his son found themselves fighting the end of primary resources in the stunning "The Road," while here, our two must face a world invaded by vampires. The pair will soon be destined to expand into a small group of survivors in search of "New Eden," the only city/fortress that still seems safe. Analyzing the film, we can divide it into two parts, the first dedicated to the recruitment of the various characters and a second in which our heroes head towards the much-desired destination. In the end, the first of the two parts proves not only unhelpful but also very forced and presents a series of coincidences so far-fetched that they are not minimally credible. In this part, we are also introduced to the sect of "The Brotherhood" which, although it arouses interest and curiosity at first, will soon turn out to be just another pretext to reach the academic hour and a half. Another negative point is the characters who, obviously, follow the natural stereotypes of the genre and where novelty is sought, only a flash in the pan is found, as the two most interesting and less "classic" characters, such as the pregnant girl and the nun, leave absolutely nothing and behave like extras without art or part. Poorly managed are also the relationships that bind the various characters and their psychology (the nun, for example, is raped without anything in her character changing afterward). Fortunately, not everything is to be thrown away because tension scenes are not lacking and a couple of them are well hit, as is the makeup of the vampires, scary but never grotesque. The merits in terms of screenplay are all found in the second part where our heroes pursue without deviating an objective and where we also witness a finale not as banal or predictable as one might expect. Another merit of the film is the register which is here always dramatic and does not fall into irony (intentional or not) of any kind, remaining nevertheless "credible." In terms of cast, no one stands out over anyone because stereotypes and monotone performances dominate, but we mention Nick Damici in the role of Mister and the boy played by Connor Paolo. The photography, although not exhilarating, is nevertheless very pleasant and helps create a good atmosphere. A film that makes you pass an hour and a half without getting bored but does not go beyond that, above the average of direct-to-video releases, however.