Jim Mickle

(In French, On Cable TV, April 2021) I’m constantly amazed at the prevalence of the “let’s escape to Canada!” trope in American dystopian science fiction and horror — whenever the Americans imagine their country going to hell, the idea of Canada holding it together seems to be of great comfort and/or storytelling convenience as a goal. (As a Canadian, I’m not so sure about our chances if our southside meth lab implodes, but I’d rather be here than there.)  So it is that, once again, Stake Land establishes Canada as the goal, while our protagonists race north to avoid hordes of vampire zombies. The rest of the picture will feel intensely familiar to seasoned post-apocalyptic road movie watchers, although Stake Land is a bit more hopeful than many by not leaving a trail of destruction everywhere it leaves — and an ending that could be qualified as hopeful. (Another element of the “let’s escape to Canada!” trope: The refuge doesn’t usually turn out to be illusory.)  It’s slightly better than the norm, slightly more optimistic, slightly more tightly-directed… but in the end, Stake Land is very much a known quantity and another entry in a familiar genre. Fun for fans, not necessarily any more interesting for those that aren’t.