Vampire Nation – Badlands (2016)

Vampire Nation – Badlands: Directed by Dan Berk, Robert Olsen. With Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Laura Abramsen, A.C. Peterson. When his home of New Eden is destroyed by a revitalized Brotherhood and its new Vamp leader, Martin finds himself alone in the badlands of America with only the distant memory of his mentor and legendary vampire hunter, Mister, to guide him.

“Released to TV in 2016 and directed by Dan Berk u0026amp; Robert Olsen from Nick Damiciu0026#39;s script, u0026quot;Stake Land IIu0026quot; (aka u0026quot;The Stakelanderu0026quot;) takes place a decade after the events of 2010u0026#39;s u0026quot;Stake Landu0026quot; where Martin (Connor Paolo) is living in New Eden in former-Canada with his wife (Bonnie Dennison) and daughter. After a group of vamps led by a blond vamp (Kristina Hughes) attack their makeshift paradise, Martin is forced to flee into the Canadian prairie where he finds Mister (Damici). They recruit a feral girl (Laura Abramsen) and eventually find succor at a barricaded community led by old friends of Mister (A.C. Peterson u0026amp; Steven Williams). Unfortunately, the Vamps and The Brotherhood are on their trail.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first film was theatrically released whereas this sequel is straight-to-TV. However, theyu0026#39;re of about the same production quality because the first movie was low-budget (although you couldnu0026#39;t really tell from watching it). The main difference here is that the events take place on the Canadian prairie (shot around Regina, Saskatchewan) as opposed to the Northeast USA in the previous film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI didnu0026#39;t like the eye-rolling gay subtext thrown in at the end (to appease SJWs, I guess), but it happens in a fallen world; and the post-apocalyptic u0026#39;worldu0026#39; portrayed here is decidedly fallen. Like the first film, u0026quot;Stake Land IIu0026quot; is forlorn and gritty realistic, but the inclusion of The Brotherhood and the vamps usher it into Mad Max territory, although not as goofy. If you like post-apocalyptic adventures, like u0026quot;Planet of the Apes,u0026quot; u0026quot;The Postmanu0026quot; and u0026quot;Dawn of the Dead,u0026quot; u0026quot;Stake Land IIu0026quot; is worth checking out. The feral girl is akin to Nova from u0026quot;Planet of the Apesu0026quot; and is an interesting touch.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie runs 81 minutes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGRADE: B-“