The Hell Street Journal

Horror Review – Caged (Captifs) 2011

2012-02-23T02:44:00.000-08:00

This aptly title film lives out most of its running time behind bars, but never comes close to fully capturing its audience.

Caged is a strange hybrid of fast-food gore (cartoon bad guys and the odd bucket or two of fake intestines), promising unfulfilled premise (three foreign doctors find themselves in fear of forcedly donating various parts to medicine) and a slightly higher than average level of acting...

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Horror Review – Caged (Captifs) 2011.

The Woman – More Horror Less Ordinary From Director Lucky McKee

2012-02-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

A mysterious woman is snared in the forest and dragged home as a trophy, but the evil that awaits far exceeds the demon she appears to be.

The works of Jack Ketchum, both in their literary and film adapted form, court controversy with very much the same doom laden ease that Lindsay Lohan courts courtrooms. The worlds he creates; these tainted reflections of the very one in which we all live, pay rent and die, are at once damningly familiar and bitterly repulsive...

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The Woman – More Horror Less Ordinary From Director Lucky McKee.

Chrome Skull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011) – DVD Review

2012-02-07T01:02:00.000-08:00

Workaholic special effects makeup artist, Robert Hall, again takes to the director's chair in this follow-up to his 2009 slasher, Laid to Rest.

This is not a film; it’s a long slow walk through the scattered debris of a massive, high impact, motorway pileup. The vehicle carrying the plot (there were sadly no survivors) must have borne the full force of this tangled wreck, as there is precious little here that even comes close to an engaging narrative framework…
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Chrome Skull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011) – DVD Review

Retro Horror DVD Review – Undead (2003)

2012-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

Directors Michael & Peter Spierig do everything but donate their own internal organs to this entertaining exercise in independent zombie movie-making.

It might seem that fledgling filmmakers, they whom decide to churn out yet another installment of zombie themed comedy, have a relatively easy job ahead of them. How hard can it really be to slap on a bit of gooey latex and douse your set in barrel after barrel of fake blood and entrails? But it is a hard cocktail to perfect, and with notoriously diligent fans of the genre ready to maul all pretenders to the iconic, these are films that must have their tone set just right...

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Retro Horror DVD Review – Undead (2003)

AFTER DARK ORIGINALS 2 (2012)

2012-02-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

After Dark Films is at it again, fresh news has just surfaced that their inaugural “AFTER DARK ORIGINALS” series of original horror is to get a sequel. AFTER DARK ORIGINALS 2 (ADO2), is set to roll with Paul Soter’s DARK CIRCLES being the first of 8 films in the new series.

Official Press:

BACK WITH TWICE THE TERROR AND TWICE THE SCARES
AFTER DARK ORIGINALS 2
IN THEATERS 2012

First came 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR, then AFTER DARK ORIGINALS, now the #1 Horror Brand in the World is proud to announce the second installment in the AFTER DARK ORIGINALS series (ADO2), and it’s first film from this series, DARK CIRCLES

Los Angeles, CA (February 2, 2012) – With the success of the After Dark Films Horrorfest "8 Films To Die For" brand, and the unanimous success of the first installment of After Dark Originals (ADO), ADF, in conjunction with Lionsgate and IM Global, is proud to announce that they will be bringing another set of 8 terrorizing films to theaters in 2012 -- After Dark Originals 2 (ADO2).

“We’re very proud of this new line of horror films and DARK CIRCLES is the perfect film to set the tone for our ‘newest brand of fear’.”
-Courtney Solomon, CEO of After Dark Films

After Dark Films kicks off After Dark Originals 2 with its first chilling feature of the new series that will send shivers down your spine. DARK CIRCLES, written and directed by Writer-Director Paul Soter (of Broken Lizard infamy, the team behind CLUB DREAD, SUPER TROOPERS and BEERFEST) and starring Pell James (The Lincoln Lawyer) and Johnathon Schaech (That Thing You Do), will have its blood-curdling theatrical release in 2012.

“Hopefully this will serve as some kind of cinematic equivalent of birth control.”
-Paul Soter, Writer/Director of Dark Circles

Synopsis:
When new parents Alex and Penny retreat from the city and move into a place outside town, the stress and massive sleep-deprivation caused by their infant has both of them seeing things in the house that may or may not exist. Persistent sightings of a strange woman has each of them wondering if they are suffering from hallucinations, or if their new home holds a dark, supernatural presence. As their fragile grasp on reality spirals into delirium, Alex and Penny find themselves nearly helpless to deal with the horrific truth of what is really going in this house.

After Dark Films has made yet another unprecedented commitment to the production of eight original horror films this year under the After Dark Originals “A New Brand of Fear” label, continuing the Company’s mantra of supporting first time independent film writers and directors. The creation of the second AD Originals slate is just another example of the Company’s commitment to the Indie film industry.

Continuing the success of After Dark Originals, the second installment will uphold the tradition of giving After Dark fans the scare they crave. The ADO 2 slate will make the genre proud, with supernatural demons, psychological killers, gruesome mysteries, and even a sci-fi sector fully equipped with aliens and a killer leprechaun. Beware horror fans, After Dark Films is giving the fans exactly the type of horror movies they asked for! Come and see for yourselves. We dare you…

Skew: Sevé Schelenz's Subliminally Haunting Debut Horror (2011)

2012-02-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

Ever ambiguous, Skew is viewed through a smeared and soothsaying lens, one perpetually obsessed with the need to capture all.

Canadian Director Sevé Schelenz opens his complex – this one will have your brain itching for days – debut horror “Skew” with a quote by French novelist, playwright and Ron Jeremy body-double, Honoré de Balzac. Dispensing entirely with such superfluous padding as an opening credit sequence, or any mention of the film’s title at all for that matter, we are instead tempted by what may or may not have been the first of many veiled clues to come...

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Skew: Sevé Schelenz's Subliminally Haunting Debut Horror (2011)

The Messengers: DVD Horror Review (2007) – Pang Brothers

2012-01-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

The evocatively named Pang brothers, Oxide and Danny, teamed with producer Sam Raimi to mold this mostly forgettable tale of ghostly infestation.

Kristen Stewart stars alongside Dylan McDermott and Penelope Ann Miller in what proves to be a numbing and soulless husk of a film. Stewart, here pre-Twilight, sadly adds very little to the turgid soup, save for presenting completests the opportunity to add to their collection of all things even remotely associated with the ‘Saga’ that seemingly never stops.

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The Messengers: DVD Horror Review (2007) Dir. The Pang Brothers

Dead Snow (2010) – Norwegian Horror DVD Review

2012-01-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

Defined as a special honor or respect shown or expressed publicly, Homage is a word that has now in many ways morphed into a horror sub-genre of its own. The self-referencing Scream franchise is perhaps the most obvious example of this, though countless others have also now stuffed their cinematic endeavors with nods and curtseys to the iconic game-changers of horrors past.

It is admirable for a filmmaker to be enamored and inspired by the work of others, but here, caught in the isolated bite of the Norwegian Dead Snow, an expectant audience is not given even the slightest hint of original interpretation upon which to chew.

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Dead Snow (2010) – Norwegian Horror DVD Review

Hidden (2005) – Independent New Zealand Horror DVD Review

2012-01-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hidden is production pocked with low-budget independent film-making cliché: Shot for a mere $7,000 (NZ) during the winter of 2001, it would ironically toil in post-production purgatory for four years before finally finding a release date. But this strange little film, cobbled together, written and shot by first time director Tim McLachlan was one that ultimately struggled to find an audience...

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Hidden (2005) – New Zealand Horror DVD Review

Magnum Motion Pictures Presents: "The Dead Hour" (Season 2)

2012-01-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

"The Dead Hour" (Season 2)

Press…

The indie horror anthology series, "The Dead Hour" has begun to roll out its brand new season online at www.thedeadhour.com. The word has slowly been spreading about the 15 minute, dark and amusing tales since a successful first season.

Now the show looks to take it's audience on a more sinister and entertaining ride with a brand new season of horror.

The series centers around a mysterious and sexy radio DJ who brings her audience dark and twisted stories each episode. All webisodes from Seasons 1 & 2 can be seen for free at www.thedeadhour.com.

More news, updates and behind the scenes features can be found on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/magnumpictures.

About the Filmmakers...

Collaborating on film projects for almost ten years, creators Daniel B. Iske and Scott Coleman delve deeper into the dark side with The Dead Hour. With this new project, Iske and Coleman aim to pair the success of their award-winning films The Wretched (2007) and New House (2005) with the ambition of Evan’s America (2002), one of the first web series.

Veterans of no-budget filmmaking, Iske and Coleman have learned to harness what’s available to them when creating their projects — from accessible locations like creepy abandoned barns, to a talented and dedicated local film network. They look to expand this network with The Dead Hour and reach even more filmmakers beyond the Omaha area.

The Dead Hour Crew...

Creator/Director: Daniel B. Iske
Creator/Writer: Scott Coleman
Executive Producer / Art Director: Wendy Iske
Executive Producer / Cinematographer: Michael Lang
Executive Producer / Camera: Ryan Long
Assistant Directors: Amy Lechtenbeg & Shawn Watson
Gaffer: Mason Kenton
Special Effects: Spider and the Fly
Hair & Makeup: Suzanne Golden

Down By The Riverside (2007) – NZ Horror DVD Review

2012-01-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

New Zealand Independent horror that fumbles what could have been a chilling and truly haunting tale of ghostly neglect.

‘They found the wife easy enough, that was no problem, she was in the living room with 18 stab wounds to her chest, it was the children they couldn't find’.

There is a reason why very few will had heard of this independent Kiwi attempt at film noir tinged horror. It’s terrible, and not in a good way. Never adept enough to even accidentally fall into the ‘it’s-so-bad-its-good’ vein, Down by the Riverside proves a painful watch...

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Down By The Riverside (2007) – NZ Horror DVD Review

Blood Creek (2010) – Supernatural Horror DVD Review

2012-01-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

American film director, producer and screenwriter Joel Schumacher has often impressed whenever he is taken to shy away from the Hollywood millions that have at times been bucketed into his production coffers (Batman & Robin, 1997). These smaller, more modestly budgeted, productions (see Tigerland (2000) and Phone Booth (2003)) showcase an eye for suspense, both emotional and situational, that seem orchestrated by an entirely different man. Gritty and invariably highly watchable, they are a million miles from the directors dogged penchant for overblown nonsense, a nasty trait that culminated in his 2007 Jim Carrey crash n’ burn stinker – The Number 23...

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Blood Creek (2010) – Supernatural Horror DVD Review

Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door (2007) – DVD Review

2012-01-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

Bear witness to what Steven King labelled the first authentically shocking American film he'd seen since Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.

In lieu of rolling out yet another instance of contrived and manufactured Hollywood evil, Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door opts instead to enrage and provoke by drawing its monsters from the very streets upon which we all live. By forcing its viewer to stare deeply into the grubby and cracked suburban mirror it evokes, this is a film that duly suffers as it attempts to succeed...

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Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door (2007) – DVD Review

Benny's Video (Michael Haneke, 2006) – DVD Review

2012-01-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

Benny's Video is the second in Haneke's "glaciation trilogy", following The Seventh Continent and preceding 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance.

Michael Haneke’s universe is one that is meant as a foil, it obscures and confuses perception only to then wedge its visceral horrors between its audiences teeth with stubborn vigor. It is this near force feeding of indigestible imagery and sound that now universally trademark, and set aside, this most unwavering of filmmakers...

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Benny's Video (Michael Haneke, 2006) – DVD Review

Anna Paquin – The A-Z of Women in Horror

2012-01-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

Anna Paquin’s forays into horror have been few, but it would be HBO’s much acclaimed True Blood and her complete assimilation into the role of telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse, that again gave life to a genre that at times struggles for recognition. A role that has itself garnered a slew of award nominations, culminating in a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress (Television Series Drama) in 2009...

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Anna Paquin – The A-Z of Women in Horror

The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Seven

2012-01-07T20:36:00.000-08:00

This last episode of The Walking Dead before its mid-season break stitches its scattered plot strings together nicely & ends with a powerful emotional punch

Much has been made of the, at times, fluctuating pace of this second season of The Walking Dead. The first installment (October 31, 2010 – December 5, 2010) was unarguably compact and bursting at the seams having been crammed into a mere six episode run. But with success comes excess and this second outing has now been given a full thirteen 'hour-long' slots within which to spin its bitter, and increasingly dark, tale.

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The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Seven

The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Six

2012-01-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

AMC’s second season of reanimated walking death continues with revelations, intimidations and confrontations in "Secrets".

Now six episodes into the latest season of The Walking Dead and secrets, both old and new, are set to be revealed and brought into the light...

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The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Six

Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf – January DVD Release 2012 (NZ)

2011-12-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Little Red Riding Hood references that smother Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf are dished out with all the subtle nuance of a grown man dressed in a cast iron wolf suit. From beginning to end we are treated, or in this case tormented, by at times cringe worthy reference to the hapless red robed girl and her pointy fanged nemesis.

On paper it must have seemed an interesting narrative structure for director/writer/ actor Andrew Cymek to build this independent little horror. But, here imagined on film, it collapses into a loosely strung together horror-less horror that often threatens to become good – but never really does...

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Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf – January DVD Release 2012 (NZ)

Saint (Sint) – (2010)

2011-12-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

Purists will not doubt balk at the idea of any part of the jolly holiday viewing season being taken over by blood and gore. Further antagonism arrives with the notion that the main protagonist in Dutch director Dick Maas’ 2010 holiday treat “Saint” is none other than Sinterklaas, the saintly present-giver himself. Reimagined here he becomes a ravaging psychopathic killer, hell bent on ruining Christmas with his nasty penchant for dispatching formally perfectly attached heads...

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Saint (Sint) – 2010 Comedy Tinged Festive Horror

The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Five

2011-12-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

"Chupacabra" unfolds with another of the series’ flash-back reveals. These fleeting snippets of backstory adding further substance to the how and why questions that are constantly churned up by the storylines central narrative.

We catch up with Shane (Jon Bernthal), Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), and Carl (Chandler Riggs) on the outskirts of the city, as they flee the steadily increasing ravages of the ‘walker’ viruses’ initial outbreak. Gridlocked within a chaotic traffic jam they here make first contact with Carol (Melissa McBride), her violently abusive husband Ed (Adam Minarovich) and their young daughter Sophia (Madison Lintz). Shane becomes obviously frustrated and concerned as the emergency radio transmissions that he is monitoring cease to broadcast. He moves, along with Lori, to higher ground as a wave of military helicopters swoop overhead. From their vantage point they witness the beginning of the end of order and the first echo of the chaos that is to come. Here, in a futile final effort to quash the outbreak, the military unleash wave after wave of napalm over the ‘infected’ streets of Atlanta...

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The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Five

Stake Land DVD Giveaway: courtesy of Vendetta Films (NZ).

2011-12-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

The Hell Street Journal and Vendetta Films - STAKE LAND - competition has now been drawn.

The winners are:

J. Quartermaine
M. Chapman
M. Horvath

A big thanks to all those who entered and congratulations to the winners, your DVDs are in the mail. We have also included a bonus Horror t-shirt and extra promotional goodies to your prize packs.

Thank you and all the best for the Christmas season.

The Hell Street Journal

The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Four

2011-11-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

"Cherokee Rose" finds Sophia still very lost, a waterlogged walker, an impulsive sex scene & a further shifting of the sands of betrayal & self preservation.

The Walking Dead saga continues with its now obviously altered pace. Passing on the frenetic momentum of the inaugural first series, one that had but six all too fleeting episodes, the story structure is now stretched to encompass a thirteen episode run.

"Cherokee Rose" follows our core group of survivors as they find uncertain, and deceptively stable, sanctuary within the sprawling rural estate that is home to mysterious patriarch Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson).

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The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Four | Suite101.com

The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Three

2011-11-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

"Save the Last One" signals a dark turning point in this, “The Walking Dead’s”, much anticipated second season.

This third episode of AMC’s addictive tale of Man vs. Dead probes deep into the simmering and anger gripped heart of one of its headlining core characters. It is here that the extreme dark edges of the survival instinct kick in and the futility and ever present danger of a scared new world takes firm hold...

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The Walking Dead (2011) – Season Two, Episode Three

The Hell Street Journal Congratulates Larry Underwood and Cameron McCasland on their Recent EMMY Award nominations.

2011-11-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

[PRESS] Dr. Gangrene Scares Up Three Emmy Nominations

NASHVILLE, TN (11.20.2011) The Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced their Midsouth Regional EMMY Award nominations on Friday, November 18, at a party hosted by Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) on Nashville’s legendary Music Row. Among the nominations were three for the creative minds behind television horror host, Dr. Gangrene.

Larry Underwood & Cameron McCasland picked up an EMMY nomination in the Entertainment category for the made for television movie “The Dreadful Hallowgreen Special” as well as two more nominations for Best PSA Campaign, and Best Short Form Writer for the “Go Green With Dr. Gangrene” series.

The good doctor said of the nomination, “This is a huge honor and it's great to see all our hard work appreciated. A big thanks to all the cast and crew who helped make these projects possible. We had a lot of fun with them and look forward to more horrific projects and collaborations in the future."

The Dreadful Hallowgreen Special pairs TV horror hosts Penny Dreadful & Dr. Gangrene together. The duo finds themselves readying for the upcoming Halloween season when suddenly all things go awry. It’s up to the physician of fright, Dr. Gangrene, and the eerie enchantress, Penny Dreadful, to set things right and save Halloween for everyone in this half hour special. Narrated by Washington DC’s legendary horror host Count Gore De Vol, this Halloween treat is packed with fright.

The “Go Green With Dr. Gangrene” series is a continuing collaboration between Underwood and McCasland and provides ways to make a safer, cleaner planet while using a horror theme as their backdrop. The 2011 installment featured Frankensteins monster, The Werewolf of Nashville, and The Creature from the Nashville Lagoon. The three newest shorts entitled, “Wolfbite”, “Creature Cooler”, and “Heating Up” provide tips on conserving the planet by cutting down on excessive waste, littering, and keeping tabs on pets.

All three were filmed in and around Nashville landmarks, and are shot in glorious black & white as a loving nod to the classic monster films of yesteryear. McCasland was previously nominated for an EMMY in the Best Short Form Writer category for his work on “Go Green With Dr. Gangrene” in both 2008 and 2009.

McCasland said of the nomination, “We’re just so happy that people like our show. Dreadful Hallowgreen was such a blast to make, and I'm not sure if we could ever pull something like that off again. Go Green has been a great joy for me to work on, and this past year even more so, as I got to bring in a lot of people who I had worked with in the past to play small parts. We’re just out there with rubber monster masks, and people seem to love it.”

The Dreadful Hallowgreen Special is distributed in the U.S. on home video and DVD by Alpha New Cinema. It premiered locally in Nashville on WNAB CW58 during Halloween weekend 2010, and was syndicated around the country. The made for television movie is a co-production of Shackle Island Studios and Peculiar Productions.

The 26th Annual Midsouth Emmy Awards will be announced during a live telecast in Nashville on March 17, 2012 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. For a full list of this year’s nominees please visit:

http://nashville.emmyonline.org/

Jennifer Lane of Decosimo Vaden. CPAs, who tabulated the ballots, announced that the 700 entries for the Midsouth Emmy Awards were judged by the Chicago/Midwest Chapter, the Mid-America Chapter based in St. Louis, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter based in Philadelphia, and the New York Chapter. She said Sixty-five television stations, production companies, and independent producers are named on the list of nominations.

Larry Underwood is an award winning writer and television producer. Outside of his role of Dr. Gangrene, he writes a regular column for Scary Monsters Magazine and daily musings in his Tales From The Lab Blog at drgangrene.com. Recently he was featured on the cover of Nashville Scene Magazine and in four color ink solving crimes alongside Dick Tracy in the classic comic strip.

Cameron McCasland is an Emmy nominated film maker from Edgewood Texas who has called Nashville home since 2001. His work has been seen on MTV, CMT, and film festivals around the globe. His upcoming feature film “The Lashman” is currently in post production.

Founded in 1957 The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a non-profit, professional organization dedicated to fostering excellence in television. The academy has 19 chapters with 15,000 members nationwide.

Stake Land (2011 VENDETTA FILMS)

2011-11-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

Win One of Three Stake Land DVDs* courtesy Vendetta Films, New Zealand’s premiere independent film distributor.

Be one of the first to witness this chilling Post-Apocalyptic vision of vampiric infestation, fresh off the press and pre December 7th national release (NZ).

To enter the draw simply forward your name, contact e-mail and postal address to:

hellstreetjournal@gmail.com

Competition closes Wednesday November 30, 2011.
*Open to New Zealand residents only.

Vendetta Films (New Zealand) sets for its December 7th release of Jim Mickle's feral vampire saga, Stake Land.

A film refreshingly stripped clean of most any trace of the pesky humor that now sneaks in to infuse the various genres and sub-genres of the horror cannon, Stake Land instead drips in haunting shades of bleak.

Dystopia, that of the post-apocalyptic variety, is again revisited here as lush premise by the film’s director Jim Mickle (some may recall his rat-faced epidemic horror Mulberry Street (2006)). His is a tactile and relentlessly naturalistic visual approach that thankfully, although the films ultra-thin budget may have added some weight to the decision, spares its audience the expected lashings of CGI fueled clutter...

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Stake land (Film Review) – 2011 Post-Apocalyptic Vampire Horror