Stake Land: Origins
A school video turns a boy’s innocent filming assignment into a chilling encounter with his butcher father’s violence.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Graphic
- disturbing
- claustrophobic
- bleak
- late night horror viewing
- short film marathon
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Charlie films his father Fred for a school project, making the recorded material the film's primary narrative viewpoint.
The boy's school assignment places him physically and psychologically close to his father's work and its violent implications.
A routine butcher's job and a seemingly innocent filming exercise are framed against the film's filicidal premise.
The six-minute runtime concentrates the father-son encounter into a brief, disturbing escalation.
Films like Stake Land: Origins, and why
The Blair Witch Project
shared found-footage presentation, domestic dread, and unsettling family violence
REC
shared compact horror format, documentary-like immediacy, and escalating unease
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
shared intimate family setting, transgressive violence, and disturbing psychological tension
Movie Details
- Director
- Larry Fessenden
- Release Date
- 2011-05-11
- Runtime
- 6 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (2)
Cast
- John Speredakos
- Miles Kraus
- Jack Fessenden
- Heather Bullock
- Eleanor Hutchins
- Miles Naughton
- Janet Steen
- Serena Van Rensselaer
Common questions
- What is Stake Land: Origins about?
- A school video turns a boy’s innocent filming assignment into a chilling encounter with his butcher father’s violence.
- What is Stake Land: Origins like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Stake Land: Origins as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Stake Land: Origins violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Stake Land: Origins as graphic.
- Which films are like Stake Land: Origins?
- Films with a similar feel include The Blair Witch Project, REC, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
- How long is Stake Land: Origins?
- Stake Land: Origins runs 6 minutes.
