I wasn't blown away by director Jim Mickle's rat zombie film Mulberry Street, but I thought it showed a lot of promise, and IFC agrees. IndieWIRE reports that IFC Midnight will partner with MPI Media Group to release the apocalyptic vampire movie on April 22 in theaters and VOD. Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter, I Sell the Dead)produced the movie, which won the Midnight Madness Audience Award at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
"We are thrilled to again be working with the great Larry Fessenden, as well as with our friends at MPI," said Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films. "With vampires at the forefront of popular culture and a cast comprised of both horror film legends and up-and-comers, Jim Mickle has made a breathtaking film that will truly excite the IFC Midnight audience."
Last week, SlashFilm grabbed the synopsis and a new photo for Stakeland, which can be seen below.
America is a lost nation. When an epidemic of vampirism strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities are tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin (Gossip Girl’s Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (Mulberry Street’s Nick Damici) whose new prey are the undead.
Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America’s heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travelers, including a nun (Kelly McGillis) who is caught in a crisis of faith when her followers turn into ravenous beasts. This ragtag family unit cautiously moves north, avoiding major thoroughfares that have been seized by The Brethren, a fundamentalist militia headed by Jebedia Loven (Tony award-winning actor Michael Cerveris) that interprets the plague as the Lord’s work.
Stakeland also stars horror scream queen Danielle Harris.
