Director: The Spierig Brothers
Writer: The Spierig Brothers (Screenplay)
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Isabel Lucas, Audrey Bennett
Plot: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed almost every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Slick Vampire Thriller
Story: Daybreakers starts by taking us to a world where vampires outnumber the humans, but the blood is running out as most humans have been turned into a farming creature. The vampires know their time is running out because they can’t carry on surviving with the source figures they have, which brings in Edward Dalton (Hawke) working on a way to create a fake blood. Charles Bromley (Neill) is desperate to find this happen because he has been working on the tests but has his own agenda to the problem.
We know there is a side effect that the vampires become dangerous if they don’t get the blood making this a difficult situation for everyone involved. When Dalton meets a resistance of humans led by Elvis (Dafoe) they have to work together to get a future for both species as he has been cured of his vampire virus.
Daybreakers is a vampire action horror that does hold back the horror in their own way to create a scientific side of the story. We get to find a that it is the vampires ruling the world which works really well because it reflects the idea that the humans are facing a similar problem in the future. When it comes to the vampire side of the story it isn’t too much different but a slightly different look to them. The action is good throughout and for what the film is comes off very easy to watch.
Actor Review
Ethan Hawke: Edward Dalton is a scientist vampire working on a replacement for human blood that could make the vampires live on before turning into the feral creatures. When he works with the resistance of humans to find a cure that could finally bring peace between the two species. Ethan keeps his calming side through the film in the leading role.
Willem Dafoe: Lionel ‘Elvis’ Cormac is a former vampire that brings Dalton in on the resistance side believing he has the cure they have been searching for. He loves his cars and that has caused him to find his cure. Willem gets to be the badass character in this film giving us a good performance.
Claudia Karvan: Audrey Bennett is one of the first humans that Dalton runs into, she sees the good in him making him consider the idea of helping the humans. Claudia is good in this lead female role.
Sam Neill: Charles Bromley runs the business that produces the blood for the citizens of the city, he knows the situation and wants to find a way to keep the business up rather than find a cure. Sam will always make a great villain and this is no different.
Support Cast: Daybreakers has what would be considered a small supporting cast with Isabel Lucas playing the daughter of Charles Bromley but the rest almost just fade into the background.
Director Review: The Spierig Brothers – The directors give us an easy to watch action horror that is slight more action than horror.
Action: Daybreakers has a solid car chase and multiple shootouts through the film which are all enjoyable to watch.
Horror: Daybreakers holds most of the horror off with most being CGI heavy when it comes to the end of the vampires in daylight.
Sci-Fi: Daybreakers shows a future we could face with the vampire twist.
Settings: Daybreakers creates a setting which shows the futuristic world that also shows the outside the city remains like living areas. These both work to show the two sides of the battle.
Special Effects: Daybreakers ha very heavy CGI effects which you can see which does take away parts from the story.
Suggestion: Daybreakers is one that I think you could try, an easy watch maybe a late night television viewing. (Late Night TV)
Best Part: Bloodbath finish.
Worst Part: Not scary.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $20 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
Tagline: In 2019, the most precious natural resource… is us.
Trivia: This film is considered an “Ozploitation” (Australian exploitation) picture.
Overall: Easy to watch action horror
Rating
