Daybreakers
January 9, 2010
Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill
Release Date: January 8, 2010
A New Type of Vampire Movie, Slightly Undercooked
Just when it seemed like a new take on the ever-present vampire genre was extremely unlikely, along comes the Spierig brothers.
Their latest film, Daybreakers, is fueled by a brilliant concept: instead of there being one (or a handful) of undead bloodsuckers who are stalking and feeding on humans, there are about 4 billion of them. 
That’s right—the entire world population has been turned into vampires, and it seems that during the process everyone was offered the chance to “assimilate.” Those who resisted were forced into hiding, as a corporate conglomerate—headed by none other than the venerable Sam Neill—has teamed up with the military to begin farming the nearly extinct humans for their blood. There’s a problem, though; since there are hardly any humans left, the vamps are starving. That’s where Edward Dalton (Hawke) comes in: he’s a hematologist whose job is to try and develop a suitable blood substitute.
Even though there’s a lot of ethical implications contained within Daybreakers—and you really do begin to wonder how it would all play out if it really did happen—the movie’s strongest attribute is, quite simply, the promise of its premise. The idea of the world going on as normal (relatively speaking) with the undead running the government and everything else is intriguing, and it’s all depicted with a reasonable amount of attention to detail. Case in point: since vampires obviously can’t walk around during the middle of the day, a “Subwalk” system is developed so that mid-day transit via good ‘ole “Pat and Charlie” is possible. There are also some other nice touches, such as “Daylight Driving Mode” being made availble on cars (which turns automobiles into something similar to a tank with tinted windows).
Unfortunately, Daybreakers also spends a fair amount of time flailing about in an effort to develop its characters. Other than a barebones sketch of fraternal woes between two of the principal players, there are really no emotional ties forged between the audience and what’s playing out on-screen. When “Sub-siders” are marched into sunlight in order to be executed, for example, we could care less. It’s all shown with slow-motion cinematography that’s meant to be dramatic, but it’s really nothing more than another “cool-looking” scene that doesn’t leave any lasting impact. The film also seems to take a somewhat divided stance on vampire lore, as all of the undead in the film have no reflection, can’t be exposed to sunlight without damage, etc. (which is, of course, vampire canon) but humans can somehow easily sneak up on these beings who are supposed to have infinitely sharper senses.
In the end, though, Daybreakers does get a lot of things right, and I feel confident saying that it’s worth the price of a matinee ticket (especially if you’re a fan of vampire films). There’s no ignoring the genius of its premise, but the sense that it’s only a fraction of what it could’ve been is undeniable.
out of 5
–Chris Flowers
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity.
Check out a trailer for Daybreakers:
