Daybreakers

Science Fiction has set bold new standards for films all across the board from action to romance, crime to comedy,  it wasn't until 1982 that  one of cinema's oldest genres, film noir was blended to create a  whole new sub genre in the Science Fiction world, Sci-Fi noir and the two films pioneered this sub genre were Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" and Alex Proyas' "Dark City", they pushed the bar for film making  and propelled this young genre into new heights making it a major staple in the film industry. Now in 2010 a pair of young filmmakers named Michael and Peter Spierig attempted and succeeded in combining dark sci-fi noir with   the vampire genre. A feat up until now that has never been accomplished on such a grand scale and breathtaking scale, that is, until now.

 

 

 

 

 

The Spierig Brothers' "Daybreakers" is a movie of ingenious design, ambitious and ferocious determination it doesn't cheat you out of the good entertainment you deserve. But this film is not just an exercise in bloody horror or dark thrills, no "Daybreakers" is more emotionally driven than any horror film that has come out in these last few years. It focuses on the characters more than the action and there lies the key to its success. It draws you in  from the very beginning  till  the bloody and shocking end, "Daybreakers" succeeds in every way as  both a horror thriller and as a poignant and  heart breaking dark Science Fiction drama   that has deep rooted emotions , morals and   shows that even if your undead  you still have a soul, this film relies on it's actors to  give it   the realistic and emotional feel  that is needed to keep this film afloat  there crucial and without good performances  and  excellent dialogue for them  they would be nothing more than cardboard cut outs of  the characters they are trying to believable play. Whether or not this film is successful as a sci-Fi horror thriller is never truly in question but   the odds may be against this film as it comes during a time when vampire films are the new thing in style, but "Daybreakers" is far above the ranks of more poorly executed vampire films and succeeded at both shocking and entertaining you.

 

 

 

 

Ethan Hawke is exceptional as Dr. Edward Dalton the human respecting vampire, while Hawke's performance is very bland and almost devoid of emotion in the beginning he quickly turns that around and becomes a very emotional centerpiece for this films bleak story. Hawke is sound and confident in his role but there are some scenes where he starts to falter and you as an audience watching this think that it is the fault of the director when it is Hawke doing this on purpose to make his character seem more sympathetic. And it works; Hawke is a class act and one of the more memorable players in this thrilling blood stained adventure. Willem Dafoe is either someone you want in your corner or someone you just want to plain kill; this time around he is someone you want in your corner. Dafoe this time doesn't try and push the envelope   instead he goes for a more grounded and  calmer approach then what you would usually expect from him and in his case that's good. Dafoe is calm, cool and collective as the mentor to Ethan Hawke's character   they way they both act onscreen is completely different as Hawke takes a more modern and cynical  approach  to his acting, while Dafoe takes a more  50's style to his acting  seeing as he is playing a character named Elvis  who happens to like vintage cars, but while both seem to completely contrast each other they both share traits that make them both viable  one use to be a vampire and one is a vampire, with that the contrast and similarities of there characters is just  stunning  and something amazing to watch onscreen. Sam Neill is what you would tentatively call the dark horse of this film, Neill is neither good nor bad he is what you would call a vampire white collar villain he has his own motive and reasons for what he is doing and in some eyes it may seem he is doing the right thing and in most he is just doing it for his own benefit.  Neill is almost a show stealer he outclasses all the other vampire types in this film to come out the best vamp standing. The rest of the supporting cast of almost unknown actors are good in there own right and do help support the leading cast well in there efforts at making this a very believable film. 

 

 

 

 

"Daybreakers" in it's own right is unconventional  and unorthodox for  it's  type it stands out far above others films of it's sub  genre  and firmly plants it self as a leader in the  new sci-fi vampire world. "Daybreakers" may not please all fans of vampires but it will give you a different spin on a genre that is as old as the talkies themselves. 

 This was a film I went to see not really expecting that much. If anything I expected it to fit in with the typically bland trend of Vampire movies that seem to be growing in quantity in recent years. Daybreakers, however, adds something new to the agenda while taking advantage of the growing trend that has swept the Western world. Ethan Hawke is an actor with a very familiar name, but is someone you don't see very frequently on the big screen. Possibly his biggest role in the movie Training Day is the only film of his I can honestly say with conviction that I enjoyed from start to finish. I wasn't expecting Daybreakers to be an addition to my Ethan Hawke fan club list of great movies but it was one I found genuinely entertaining is one wouldn't mind watching again. 

The story is set in the year 2019 and a virus has spread across the world turning much of the world's human population into Vampires. As a consequence of this, their is a shortage of human blood and the Vampire race are frantically looking for an alternative or they will all soon turn into what they call `sub-siders' which are mutated, bat-like creatures driven by their hunger much like zombies. Edward Dalton (Hawke) is a haematologist whose job it is to discover that alternative and is driven by his own compassion for the human race. His employer, the company Bromley Marks headed by Charles Bromley (Sam Neill) is a greedy corporation, looking for the best way to retain its profits in this time of need. Dalton is in a race against time, to find an alternative to human blood before everyone he knows, including him, succumbs to the curse of a hunger for human blood. He must do this with the help of the Vampires natural enemy, the Human. 

This is really a genuinely enjoyable film. The futuristic effects are well done and the fact that they have retained the Vampire myths such as having no reflection makes it that much cooler. The Speirig brothers have managed to create a believable world in which you can imagine Vampires living and thriving as they go about their daily lives without having to hunt humans themselves. The acting of Hawke, Neill and Dafoe are well done in their respective roles, yet Neill is the more terrifying character in the film. He presents an aura about him which makes the character automatically an intimidating foe for the cause of Dalton. The film has an apocalyptic air to it that, although the human race has essentially died out, you become concerned for the survival of the Vampire race whilst still wanting the humans to take back what is theirs. 

It's a good film that, although not an Oscar winner, serves its purpose in entertaining the viewer for its entire runtime.

Another vampire flick amongst many others. The story is different and thats all it offers.

A fairly fresh idea on the vampire genre, Daybreakers is set in 2019 where vampires are the main race on earth. It is an earth not too different from today. They go to work, drive cars (equipped with special UV windowing), have homeless (will work for blood). Oh, and what few pockets of humans that remain are hunted by the armies for blood harvesting. Well, the vampires are slowly running out of human's to harvest for blood. So it's up to Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) as lead hematologist at pharmaceutical company Bromley Marks to come up with a blood substitute solution before their race dies off. Or as they are finding, those who are too poor to buy blood feed off their own blood turning them into hideous, monstrous vampires. Problem in all this is that Dalton is actually a human sympathizer who longs to find a cure to turn himself back into a human. Nifty idea. Vampire/sci-fi/drama piece. Visually very good. Unfortunately it falters in the last act. And I never truly care about any of the characters. I just don't think movie time length is capable to hash such an idea out. It could have been much more effective as a well done miniseries ala Band of Brothers. Or a trilogy maybe. It is actually a very good idea. Still worth a watch if you like sci-fi and vampire movies.

This was a good vampire movie more real good acting and cast