dglink In a world dominated by bloodsuckers, human blood is a precious resource, and, with a dwindling number of flesh-and-blood people, the world's food supply is threatened. A giant pharmaceutical company farms humans for their blood, but is researching a substitute product as their original source dwindles toward extinction. The intelligent intriguing premise lifts "Daybreakers" above run-of-the-mill vampire movies and suggests that capitalism flourishes even among the undead.Original, well written, and sharply directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, the Australian horror film is entertaining and maintains a decent pace, although the violence and especially the gore are over the top at times; Australia's supply of fake blood must have been exhausted during filming. The Spierig Brother's script suggests that some traditions persist from ancient vampire lore: the undead do not reflect in mirrors, their eyes have an unearthly glow, they bite their victims in the neck, and they savor the finest blood in crystal stemware. Ben Nott's cinematography uses creative color effects to create a nightmarish nether world in the year 2019. While respective of tradition, "Daybreakers" is a 21st-century vampire film; the vamps live in quiet residential neighborhoods in stylish homes sealed from light and not a coffin in sight. The undead have customized cars that shield them from UV rays during daytime driving, and they use underground walkways and overhead tunnels to get around when the sun shines. Cable networks broadcast images and dire news of unrest throughout the world.A distinguished trio of fine actors bring credence and class to the film. Ethan Hawke is Edward Dalton, a vampire sympathetic to humans, who is researching the blood substitute and stumbles upon an alternate course of action. Hawke's boss is the always malevolent-looking Sam Neill, who plays Charles Bromley, the head bloodsucker at the pharmaceutical enterprise. Veteran of another fine vampire flick, "Shadow of the Vampire," Willem Dafoe plays Elvis Cormac, an enigmatic individual, who has returned from the undead. "Daybreakers" is an intelligent update of an old theme; the acting by a seasoned cast is above average, and the untold pints of fake blood, numerous gratuitous explosions, and countless severed body parts should keep fans of the action-vampire genre satisfied.

sol- Set in a future in which close to 100% of the human population has been turned into vampires, the key theme of 'Daybreakers' is survival given an ever-dwindling blood supply due to the increasing scarcity of human beings. Ethan Hawke plays a haematologist employed to find a substitute source of sustenance for when the blood supply runs dry, however, he would much rather find a cure for vampirism itself. Also thrown into the mix are his boss, who would prefer not to have a cure, since the need for blood is good for business, and some renegade humans who believe that they have accidentally stumbled on a cure. Intriguing as all this might make 'Daybreakers' sound, it is a pretty uneven a ride with such a large focus on high octane action and gore that its thought-provoking ideas never feel properly explored. The lack of any explanation for the cause of the vampire disease also feels like a cop-out and while the film does eventually come up with two cures, neither solution is fleshed out in depth, which results in unanswered questions arising. The film boasts a lot of thought and consideration in other areas though. The black-out cars are nifty, there is a darkly comic moment when we learn that vampire animals wandering into daylight have resulted in an increase in forest fires (!) and there is a lot to like in the corporate greed agenda at the heart of the film.

Alyssa Black (Aly200) What if we lived in a world where vampires have to harvest humans in order for them to survive overpopulation and a dwindling blood supply? That's the basic premise of this Australian horror film and it does stand out midst the over-saturation of vampire films over the last decade. Boasting a couple A-list names in the cast, the performances are quite solid: Ethan Hawke plays Dr. Edward 'Ed' Dalton, a vampire scientist who has been disillusioned with his immortal lifestyle for a long time. After a chance encounter with a human female resistance member (Claudia Karvan), Ed is soon pulled into the fight to end the vampire reign of terror for a new blood supply. Hawke brings a vulnerability and almost youthful world-weariness as Ed, portraying him more like a human trapped in a vampire's body, longing to be free of the curse of needing human blood to live. Hawke's costar chemistry is enjoyable as he has an underlying flirtatious yet compassionate affection for Claudia Karvan's Audrey to a uneasy (at first) but loyal friendship that develops with Willem Dafoe's Lionel "Elvis" Cormac.Playing the bad-ass, crossbow wielding Lionel or better known as Elvis is the bearded and always enjoyable Willem Dafoe. Adopting a solid Southern drawl that draws from his character's nickname's sake, Dafoe brings his usual grizzled persona to the former vampire turned human. Being a world-weary resistance fighter, Elvis doesn't hesitate to remind the new recruit, Edward, what the world has come to in the crisis happening around them. Dafoe doesn't hesitate to add some humor to the character in order to defuse the tension in a scene; most evident in Elvis and Edward's first meeting where Dafoe sings a few bars of an Elvis Presley song or during a tense meeting with one of Edward's former colleagues where Dafoe quips a scorching one-liner to who he and Audrey are, "we're the folks with the crossbows." As the sole female lead, Claudia Karvan's Audrey is no damsel in distress despite being taken hostage near the end of the film. Audrey doesn't hesitate to pull her crossbow on Edward when they first meet when Audrey and some other humans are escaping to the safe-haven of the vineyard. However she grows to trust Ed after he aids her and her fellow humans' escape and when Ed agrees to help find a cure. Audrey's loyalty is more than evident to Ed when he sees the bond Audrey has with Elvis; she saved the latter's life after Elvis was burned by the sun which rendered him back to human form. Karvan and Hawke's Ed almost develop a budding romance as the film moves forward, but the filmmakers don't taint the narrative by keeping the relationship between them as cordial and more like comrades in arms.The movie exudes a gloomy atmosphere by utilizing specific color palettes like grays dark blues for the cityscape where the vampires live, dark shades of yellow for the countryside vineyard where our heroes hide from the threat of being captured by vampire militia and of course red is a dominant color due to the presence of blood in a vampire film.Enjoyable for any vampire movie fan.

dworldeater Daybreakers is one of my favorite modern horror films that is very original and very well done overall. The premise of the film is very fresh and unique, putting this in the near future where the human race is nearly extinct and what was once human society is now populated by vampires. The vamps have nearly exhausted their means of farming human beings for blood and do not have the means to sustain themselves for much longer. Now because of the lack of human blood, vampires have a new epidemic that started when they started to feed on one another. This has caused them to de evolve into bat like creatures known as subsiders. Research scientists try to find a blood substitute to sustain the vampire population and what remains of the human race desperately try to stay below the radar to survive. Daybreakers is an excellent blend of horror, science fiction and action and delivers with an abundance of gore, blood and action. The film looks great and has a noir like look and feel to the film. The f/x are great and rely mostly on practical f/x, but when digital f/x are used, it is pretty tasteful, but minimal in this production. The film is very well written, directed and acted and attracted the talents of excellent A list actors like Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neil. Daybreakers is a cerebral film and blends social commentary in a horror/sci fi context in a very creative and entertaining manner. The Sperig Brothers absolutely pulled off making a very ambitious and original horror film that too me is a kind of mix between Soylent Green, Blade and Dawn Of The Dead. I absolutely love and highly recommend this film and Daybreakers has become one of my favorites.