Daybreakers - A Review

At a time when vampires have dominated popular culture, the thought of watching another vampire inspired movie didn't seem like the kind of entertainment I wanted to experience. One more 'sparkly-in-the-sun-emo-kid' would be the limit for me. Add to that the fact that the star is Ethan Hawke, I was more determined not to be seduced into seeing 'Daybreakers'. How fortunate it was that I did take a chance and watched this excellent Australian import.

The story takes place in a world were vampires are the overwhelming majority of people inhabiting the Earth. Humans have been hunted to near extinction for their precious blood and now the vampires are beginning to realize that the loss of a human blood supply will result in their own destruction. I liked the connection between human extinction in that world and animal extinction in our own. We are always reminded that to loose vital species would eventually find its way back to us with devastating consequences. They even used the term 'farmed' for what is done to captured humans. Good on the filmmakers for burying a message about the environment deep within their story.


The first thing I noticed is that even though they are immortal creatures of the night the vampires STILL have to punch a clock everyday and earn a living. In a world where everyone is special, no one is. How crappy would it be to have a long life if you have to shuffle papers just to pay the rent FOR ETERNITY? I would just walk into the sun and be done with it.

I like how the buildings and the cars are equipped with features that protect vampires from the sun should they be caught out in it. There are public announcements reminding everyone when sunrise is and a underground walkway of tunnels that further remove the danger of sunlight and allow the vampires to more around more freely during daylight hours. The movie has nice touches like that throughout. It shows that someone actually thought about the practical side of living in a vampire dominated world. This goes a long way in helping the viewer enjoy the movie. I didn't have those pesky script questions rattling around in my head and that is ALWAYS a good sign.


You would also think that inventing some kind of plasma substitute for human blood would be an option. Not so. Its seems our 'juice' is unique and can't be easily replicated. Hawke plays Edward (I KNOW - unfortunate name to have in the era of 'Twilight) a vampire hematologist who is working on that exact problem. His lab is stocked with humans who have their blood milked from them much in the way we obtain venom from deadly snakes to produce anti-venom. He has to pass by them everyday and from the look on his face you can see that he is someone having severe doubts about himself, his job, and his society.

Those higher up have been running experiments to see what effect depriving vampires of human blood would have on them over the long term. The results are not pretty. Deprived of human blood the vampires subjects descend into animal/drug addict behavior and are called 'subsiders'. They are the more monstrous version of vampire that we are used to seeing. This is the sword hanging over the entire 'normal' vampire population for the rest of the movie. It creates an environment of protest and desperation. With only five percent of the human population remaining, it's 'do or die' time for the fanged ones. We are told they have only a month before things turn critical.


As you would expect, Hawke's blood substitute is not the cure he hoped it would be. While taking a gloomy, defeatist attitude he is now primed for seeing the 'error' of his ways and joins a small group of humans in their fight against the vampires (complete with a human love interest to further motivate him). The humans see this moment as the last, best hope they have for freedom from the vampire 'disease' that has swallowed up the planet.

William Defoe is very good as Elvis, the leader of the human resistance who has secrets of his own. I like the way the humans fight with crossbows and wooden arrows. It's decidedly old school.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie because you can see the effort that went into every part of it from concept to execution. It could have went the safe route and gave us a 'paint-by-numbers' vampire story to cash in on the latest craze but resists that temptation entirely. It's an intelligent vampire movie for adults. It is gory and violent but what vampire movie isn't? If you are looking for something to get that bad 'Twilight' taste out of your mouth then 'Daybreakers' is the film for you.