Daybreakers review

The way "Daybreakers" kicks itself off is to let you know a few things. The first is that the world in which it takes place in is strange and unpleasant. The second this is letting you know that this is a vampire story and that when they're in sunlight then burn... not sparkle. In fact there are several things in the film that jump up and are made more prominent, seemingly just to let you know that these are what vampires really are. However this is a different vampire tale, one set in a future where vampires are the majority and what's left of the human race is being hunted down and drained of all their blood to feed the masses. But that precious blood is running out and the people are beginning to lose control and also devolve in some ways. Actually when they don't consume enough human blood they turn into the picture above. Not cool for them. Enter Edward... wait... no not Cullen, his last name is Dalton played by Ethan Hawke; he's a scientist working on a blood substitute.

Edward's not a fan of being a vamp and in fact rarely drinks blood. He has a chance meeting with some humans and aids them in their escape. One of them notes who he is and decides to seek him out later and introduce him to Lionel Cormac, whose friends call him Elvis, played by the always entertaining Willem Dafoe. Elvis was a vampire, but was turned back thus he is the key. But the road our heroes face is long and full of backstabbing, vampire soldiers and Sam Neil as Edward's boss, who owns the blood harvesting company and is interested far more in profit then he is in any cures.

The mark of an impressive B-movie is really in the tech side of things. As long as things move along nicely and we are provided with fun sequences and good visuals, then we'll overlook plot holes and bad acting. Luckily there was no bad acting to make up for, but sure there's some plot holes and a some of the effects were a bit if-y, but then again that's part of the allure of B genre movies. They didn't have a hundred million, they just had spirit and what money they did have and they had to put it to good use and that was done here in spades. The world of "Daybreakers" is pretty specific and there are great strides taken to display how vampires would live out a normal life, from special cameras and black out windows on cars for day driving, to censors letting them know when UV light is entering. Seeing vampire hobos and cops and seeing them do what they do is pretty neat. But the film's major strength is in how fun and expanded they make the story.

"Daybreakers" is written and directed by Peter and Michael Spierig, the brothers who had some cult acclaim with "Undead", a low budget, low radar horror comedy a few years back. I wasn't a big fan of it, but this is a big step up. A lot of their humor from their last film is here as well as their effects techniques, but it's paced a hell of a lot better than "Undead", looks better and it's much more fun. There are some great single images in the film that really bring it all home and give you a good perspective on things. The big sequence at the end is perfectly captured at one point in slow motion with an entire squad of soldiers tearing into one another like they had chainsaws in their mouths.

It's sad seeing it so late and seeing that it didn't get too much play with audiences, "The Book of Eli" is kind of having a similar issue which is distressing as it's also a great example of genre film making done to perfection and a great character movie. But often these things happen and audiences attention aren't on movies in January except for their chance to catch the award favorites. In any case "Daybreakers" is a great return to form for vampires and a fun B movie that's the kind of escapism we need right now. It's bloody, funny and fast-paced.