Review of Daybreakers (2010) by Halfwelshman — 11 Jul 2012

Daybreakers has an interesting sci-fi/fantasy premise - as the result of a virus, vampires become the dominant species on the planet, and struggle to survive once the remaining human population, and their life-giving blood supply begins to dwindle.

The film has satisfying and effectively moody visuals and good direction from the Australian Spierig Brothers. In the lead role as a vampire scientist searching for a human blood substitute to feed the starving vampire population, Ethan Hawke us just how consistent his performances are, and Sam Neill keeps your attention, with a quiet menace about his character, who's basically a vampiric bureaucrat.

And of course, it goes without saying that Willem Dafoe looks cool with a goatee on his face and a crossbow slung over his shoulder. The film, as a new take on the vampire myth with a satirical edge that comments on world energy crises is, for the most part, far better than it has to be.

It does have a disappointing finale, issues with pacing, particularly when we spend any amount of time away from the cool vampire world and with the dull, depressing humans, and there's the odd bit of clunky dialogue.

The explanation of one of the key plot points is also incredibly unsatisfying. For what it is though, Daybreakers is a decent example - it doesn't bring many new ideas to the table, sure, but just about everything is done well, and I enjoyed it far more than another recent modern take on a vampire film - 30 Days of Night.

There's potential for expansion of this intriguing world in a sequel too, but whether this will manifest at all, or as anything beyond a direct-to-DVD feature remains to be seen.