StakeLand Movie Review

I suppose this movie can be described as a horror movie, but it seems to be more of a dark coming of age movie to me.  It is true that the movie is basically a post civilization collapse story with "Vampires", but the plot focuses more on a master vampire hunter training an apprentice to live in the collapsed world. 

The vampires in this movie are a lot more like zombies than anything you can find in contemporary fiction for the most part.  They are unthinking, undead creatures constantly seeking blood and fleeing the sun.  they are a bit stronger than normal humans, but not much, and their main advantage seems to be the fact that they are infectious, and there are a lot of them.  From what I can tell in the movie if you are killed by one your rise as one, but all thought ceases in the transition.  The world is definitely in a new dark age in this film, but there are many examples of communities getting by.

The two main characters in this movie are Martin, the apprentice, and Mister, the master.  The story is told from Martin's point of view and narrated by him.  It doesn't really feel like a horror film because the main characters are so numb to the horror around them that the normal tension is just not there.  Instead it is replaced by the coming of age story of Martins training by Mister.  Don't get me wrong all the elements of a horror movie are there, but they didn't hit me the same way.  

The basic plot of the movie is that Mister and Martin are trying to get to New Eden, which is apparently in Canada, where the cold keeps the vampires at bay.  They travel through a transformed United states fighting vampires, and picking up companions, and enemies along the way.

This movie was interesting, but very dark, and I would not recommend it if you are terribly afraid of vampires or zombies.  If you can get past that it is an interesting take on a coming of age tale, and the background for the setting is very well thought out.

I watched this movie on Netflix via my Roku streaming player.

Roku Streaming Player Review

This little set top box is a great complement to any home entertainment center.  It basically lets you access your streaming services from you TV.  If you already have Netflix and Hulu plus you will find this streaming device to be very useful.  You simply plug the box into your power strip and tv and then hook it up to your wireless network and you are ready to go.  There are many Roku channels and apps that you can then download.  Some channels like Netflix and Hulu plus will require you to link your accounts, some are free, and others cost a small fee or charge subscriptions.

Depending on how you watch TV this can be a viable replacement for your cable or satellite tv accounts.  The catch is that there will be no programming.  You are completely in charge of what you watch. This sounds great until you just want to veg out in front of the tv, and cant find anything on because there are too many choices.  Also if your goal is to get rid of pesky advertisements this may not be feasible since channels can sell advertising.  Crunchyroll and Hulu plus both do this, and
Hulu plus has a bit too much advertising for something I pay for in my opinion.

Personally I went back to having a DirectTV account, but i still use the Roku to access my Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Crunchyroll content.  To be honest it was the desire to see new kids tv that made us go back.  Roku has a lot of kids content but its all a bit dated and after you have seen the same episodes of "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" 20 times Disney has broken down your will to not seek out some cable provider just so you don't have to see the same damn episode one more time.  If you don't have this issue and can deal with a lack of programming then this may be the way to go for you.  If not the boxes are cheap and lets you stream video from the internet directly to your tv, and the box just works.

You can find Roku almost anywhere.  I think we bought ours at Wall Mart.  Or you can order it at www.roku.com.  There are several models to choose from and one should be affordable.