In Stake Land, the latest post-apocalyptic vision to hit cinemas, it is not vampire or cannibals you have to watch out for, but those nutters in the Christian right and all of the offensive caricature that comes with them.

When watching Stake Land, it quickly dawned this sophomore effort from writer/director Jim Mickle could easily have been a graphic novel. The visuals lend themselves to pictures panels, the narration reads off the screen like a thought bubble, and the themes are typical of fanboy ideology: anti-religious, anti-conservative, and pro-violence.

But a film Stake Land is, and while many might see it as an innovative entry in the forever growing vampire film sub-genre, make no mistake that it is also an incredibly cynical look at religion and politics in America, that by its conclusion there is no doubt that Stake Land is anti-Christian propaganda at its most blatant.

The film is set during an unspecified time in America’s south, where young apprentice vampire slayer Martin (Connor Paolo) and his grizzled mentor “Mister” (Nick Damici, clearly trying to evoke Mickey Rourke), travel across a ravaged country plagued with vampire, cannibals and rapists.

Worst of all are the Christian fundamentalists, here named “The Brotherhood”. They believe the vampires have been sent by God to purify the sinners, and are portrayed as psychotic rednecks with the Bible as a guide and machine guns to enforce “God’s will”. You can almost hear the target audience applaud with approval.

Such caricature is not surprising in the current sci-fi/horror landscape. The E.T. spoof Paul also used stereotype to mock Christianity. Futuristic horror Priest set its eyes on the Catholic Church.

Yet Stake Land takes it type of prejudice to a new level, often through violent imagery such as the carving of a crucifix into the flesh of a fundamentalist villain, which represents both a mocking and violent gesture. Christian symbology has long been associated with vampire movies, but never in this way.

Then again, it’s suited to the bleak, Darwinist nature of the material. Mickle often pushes the violence to create some disturbingly horrific images. Other times genuinely creepy moments show the potential Mickle has in this genre. One scene where vampires are dropped from a helicopter into an unsuspecting human populace has to be one of the most innovative seen in an America horror movie in a long time.       

Yet moments like that are scarce, with Stake Land borrowing heavily from better post-apocalyptic thrillers released before it, with John Hillcoat’s 2009 drama The Road a huge influence.

Then there are the characters, plain and undeserving of emotional investment. Lead character Martin, played by Gossip Girl actor Connor Paolo, is especially weak, with his dull, monotone narration inspiring snores rather than insight.

Ironically, the only character worth any insight is also the one who could have redeemed the bigoted stance of Stake Land, a Catholic nun portrayed by an unrecognisable Kelly McGillis. Through her, Mickle could have differentiated the religious believer from the religious extremist. Yet as soon as she is introduced (as a victim of rape), she is as quickly dispensed of (best not said how).

As a matter of truth in advertising, Mickle should have named his film to Stake Land: Christians Not Welcome.