Daybreakers (2009)

Directors:

Michael Spierig
Peter Spierig

Writers:

Michael Spierig (written by) &
Peter Spierig (written by)

Release Date:

8 January 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

In 2019, the most precious natural resource... is us.

Plot:

In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most 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.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Blood | Vampire Society | Rationing | Plague

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ethan Hawke	...	Edward Dalton
Willem Dafoe	...	Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
Sam Neill	...	Charles Bromley
Claudia Karvan	...	Audrey Bennett
Michael Dorman	...	Frankie Dalton
Isabel Lucas	...	Alison Bromley
Vince Colosimo	...	Christopher Caruso
Callum McLean	...	Vampire School Kid
Harriet Minto-Day	...	Lisa Barrett
Jarrad Pon	...	Vampire School Kid
Sahaj Dumpleton	...	Homeless Vampire
Victoria Williams	...	Vampire School Kid
Jay Laga'aia	...	Senator Turner
Zoe White	...	Vampire School Kid
Gabriella Di Labio	...	Businesswoman

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 (cut) (original rating) | UK:18 (uncut) (DVD rating) | Australia:MA (2009) | Ireland:16 (cinema rating) | USA:R (certificate #44213) | Finland:K-18 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16 | France:-12 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 (cut) (DVD rating) | Canada:13+ | New Zealand:R16 | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:III | Malaysia:18PL | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) (cut) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) (uncut)

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

The corporation named Bromley Marks is named after Patricia Bromley Marks, the wife of Dick Marks, Australian advertising legend and mentor to the Spierig Bros.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the very first scene there is a shot of a calendar that displays April 2019. On the calendar April 1st falls on a Tuesday. This is incorrect. In 2019, the first of April will fall on a Monday.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[on television]
Senator Westlake:Let's be clear about this. Humans were offered a chance to assimilate, but they refused. Therefore, they are enemies of the state and will be captured and farmed for blood supply.

Movie Connections:

References The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Soundtrack:

Burning Love

High concept, high reward

Riding the most recent wave of monster-dom, Daybreakers is yet another entry in the endless parade of vampire films to hit the market since the arrival of a little film called Twilight which I hear is somewhat popular. Breaking with recent trends however, Daybreakers is by far the best of the bunch; high concept and high reward.

The year is 2019. After a plague sweeps across the globe turning men, women and children into blood-thirsty, pale version of their former selves another, larger threat looms. The remaining humans, who now mostly exist only in vast blood farms that recall the fields of The Matrix, are drying out so to speak. Blood shortages are common place and with the direction of a vampire haematologist named Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawk) they desperately search for a blood substitute. But complications lead Dalton to question his loyalties after he meets a group of humans led by a former-vampire turned vigilante (Willem Dafoe) and with the future of mankind resting in the balance, time grows more and more precious.

The vampire world created by director brothers Michael and Peter Spierig is extensive and all encompassing. The attention to detail at every turn is the greatest reason to seek out Daybreakers even if script and some performances aren't quite up to the same standard. Take for example instances of how the vamps navigate during the daytime and what a double-double coffee now means. Many earmarks of vampire lore remain; death by sunlight, susceptibility to a steak in the heart, etc. But many details about the new world culture is left to viewer imagination which is a far better avenue to take then attempting to stuff the story with exposition and revelations.

Amidst a sea of flashy set pieces, the acting takes a backseat. Hawk is merely there, Dafoe is entertaining enough and scores most of the laughs and Sam Niell shows up as the shady CEO of the blood farm and is sufficiently sinister. The real standout is Claudia Karvan as one of the remaining humans who actually manages to bring down her languid looking co-stars with her emotion and charm. Daybreakers features a number of requisite action set-pieces and do the job admirably enough but it is the story that is the real reason to see this film.

If there is still blood to be drained from this waning horror genre I hope it is not fast-tracked to take advantage of the current craze. If we are to have more vampire flicks of this calibre then I would rather experience them while not being constantly swamped. Regardless of where these fright flicks tread in the future we are lucky to have Daybreakers, as an entertaining and thought-provoking film like this is always welcome amidst a sea of remakes, reboots and rehashes that have become a Hollywood staple.

Read all my reviews at simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com