In The Face Of A Deadly Vampire Epidemic, A Boy And A Man Embark On The Epic Journey Of A Lifetime Stake Land. The Critically Hailed, Award-Winning Thriller, Starring Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Kelly McGillis and Danielle Harris Reaches Blu-ray and DVD on August 2, 2011, Packed With Extras
In the ultimate tale of survival in the face of a dying world, Jim Mickle’s breakthrough movie, STAKE LAND adds a frightening new element to the equation: vampires. The award-winning crowd-pleaser comes to Blu-ray and DVD on August 2, 2011, via Dark Sky Films. This extraordinary movie will be available on DVD, with an SRP of $27.98, and on two-disc Special Edition DVD ($29.98) and Blu-ray ($34.98), both containing a wealth of bonus material.
America has fallen. A vampiric scourge sweeps the nation, turning brother on brother and parent on child as the blood-hungry beasts take deeper and deeper hold upon the land. It’s hard for the survivors to know whether to be more afraid of the creatures themselves or the violent religious groups that have sprung up in response, but there is clearly only one choice: fight or die. Connor Paolo (Gossip Girl, Alexander, Mystic River) stars as Martin, a teenager whose family has been slaughtered. His traveling companion is a taciturn, hardened vampire killer known simply as Mister (Nick Damici, In the Cut, World Trade Center), and together they trudge across the land in search of the rumored safe haven of New Eden.
Director Jim Mickle first grabbed the attention of horror film fans with his zombie-rat thriller Mulberry Street, in which Damici also starred and served as co-writer. They have teamed up again to deliver an even darker and bloodier shocker. Drawing on the post-apocalyptic frenzy described by Richard Matheson (author of the novel I Am Legend) and George Romero, STAKE LAND is a road movie with fangs. It co-stars new horror movie icon Danielle Harris (Halloween, Hatchet II) as a pregnant young woman and Kelly McGillis (Witness, Top Gun) as a traumatized nun who are picked up by Martin and Mister along their journey. The movie was produced by indie horror director Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter, Wendigo).
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub called STAKE LAND “a bold and memorable step forward in the genre.” Critic Richard Roeper called it a “crazy-ass little vampire film with a lot of energy.” “Nothing short of epic,” said Dread Central, and Twitch Film’s Todd Brown honored it as “the American horror film of the year.”
The praise continued, with Variety’s Alissa Simon describing it as “a highly satisfying low-budget horror-thriller.” “Jim Mickle’s odyssey is terrific,”wrote David Edelstein of New York magazine. Dann Gire of The Daily Herald said, “STAKE LAND supplies all the suspense, chills and gory violence we expect in a vampire Armageddon movie. But it’s also the saddest, most melancholy, postapocalyptic horror tale I’ve ever seen.”
“Though it has plenty of shocks,” wroter Scott Tobias of NPR, “the film creates a wasteland that would be compellingly deranged even without vampires pressing insistently at every border. Horror is just the half of it.” And the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert called the movie “a good-looking, well-played and atmospheric apocalyptic vision.”
STAKE LAND won the Midnight Madness Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, beating such high-profile movies as Insidious, the Rainn Wilson-starrer Super and John Carpenter’s The Ward.
The film will be available as a 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray as well as a single DVD.
TWO-DISC DVD AND BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
–2 FEATURE-LENGTH CAST AND CREW COMMENTARIES: Writer/Director Jim Mickle, Writer/Actor Nick Damici, Actor Connor Paolo, Producer/Actor Larry Fessenden, Producer Brent KunkleWriter/Director Jim Mickle, Producers Peter Phok & Adam Folk, Director of Photography Ryan Samul, Sound Designer Graham Reznick, Composer Jeff Grace
–GOING FOR THE THROAT: THE MAKING OF STAKE LAND
–CHARACTER PREQUELS: 7 SHORT FILMS From Directors Larry Fessenden, Danielle Harris, Glenn McQuaid, JT Petty, Graham Reznick
–VIDEO DIARIES By Jim Mickle: PRE-PRODUCTION – STORYBOARDS – VISUAL FX – POST-PRODUCTION
–TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE AND Q&A
–SINGLE DISC DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
–2 FEATURE-LENGTH CAST AND CREW COMMENTARIES: Writer/Director Jim Mickle, Writer/Actor Nick Damici, Actor Connor Paolo, Producer/Actor Larry Fessenden, Producer Brent Kunkle, Writer/Director Jim Mickle, Producers Peter Phok & Adam Folk, Director of Photography Ryan Samul, Sound Designer Graham Reznick, Composer Jeff Grace
About Dark Sky Films
Dark Sky Films is dedicated to the discovery, preservation and production of new and classic horror, sci-fi and cult films from around the world. Based in Chicago, Dark Sky Films is a wholly owned subsidiary of The MPI Media Group – one of the largest independent entertainment companies producing and distributing a compelling slate of the world’s most respected cinema, documentaries, performances and television programs.
About MPI Media Group
The MPI Media Group is a leading distributor, licensor, and producer of films, home entertainment, historical footage and more. Founded in 1976, Chicago-based MPI Media Group remains one of the largest independent entertainment companies offering a compelling slate of the world’s most respected cinema, documentaries, performances and television series. MPI’s wholly owned subsidiaries include MPI Home Video, Dark Sky Films, and the WPA Film Library programs. In North America, product is released via the company’s subsidiary labels; MPI Home Video and Dark Sky Films. www.mpimediagroup.com.
STAKE LAND
Street date: August 2, 2011
SRP: $27.98 (DVD), $29.98 (2-Disc Special Edition DVD), $34.98 (Blu-ray)
Running time: 98 minutes
Rated: R
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