Daybreakers Review

Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz on 01.11.2010

Simply awesome.

"Daybreakers" Review

Ethan Hawke- Edward Dalton
Claudia Karvan- Audrey Bennett
Sam Neil- Charles Bromley
Willem Dafoe- Lionel "Elvis" Cormac
Michael Dorman- Frankie Dalton
Isabel Lucas- Alison Bromley

Directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
Screenplay by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Distributed by Lionsgate

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity
Runtime- 98 minutes

Website: http://daybreakersmovie.com/




"Daybreakers," written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig (the Spierig Brothers), is one of those genre flicks that'll make you stand up at the end and say to anyone listening one of the following (or maybe all of them), "That was awesome," "That kicked ass," or "That was fucking cool." On almost every level, "Daybreakers" is the ultra exciting, thrilling genre B-movie going experience you very rarely get in a movie theatre anymore. It's got a few flaws here and there, but those moments of story weakness are overwhelmed by the rest of the movie's energy, bits of social commentary, and wicked, nasty gore.



The flick takes place in 2019, ten years after a mysterious worldwide plague/outbreak transformed large swaths of people into vampires. The new majority vampires, needing human blood to survive, basically farm blood from captured unturned humans, who are placed under a kind of stasis and hooked up to machines in factories that keep them alive just long enough to get all of their blood. The world of the vampires looks more or less like the world right now, except everything happens at night. Vampires have jobs, go to diners, go shopping, etc. There are even homeless vampires panhandling on the streets. When the sun comes up, everything closes down and the vampires hide inside their homes and skyscrapers and whatnot. The outside world becomes a quiet, barren bit of desolation, save for the occasional non-vampiric animal (some animals became vampires, too) or human or vampire using his or her car with a specialized window blocking and surveillance camera system to see the road. The vampires, more or less, have managed to craft a kind of dark paradise for themselves. As long as the blood supply stays strong, the immortal undead really will be able to live forever.

But that's the big problem the worldwide vampire society finds itself in when the movie begins. There aren't enough humans left to farm to provide the necessary amount of blood for the vampires. Shortages are rampant. And when a vampire doesn't get enough blood, it can turn into a giant bat like creature called a Subsider. If something isn't done to find/create more blood, the grotesque subsiders will become the norm rather than the exception. No one wants to see that happen.

And that's where Ethan Hawke's character comes in. Hawke's Edward Dalton is a blood researcher (hematologist) for a government contracted company run by uber businessman Charles Bromley (Sam Neil). Edward is trying to create a viable blood substitute that will be easy to use; easy to produce, and ultimately end the practice of human blood consumption all together (Edward is very interested in that last one. He wasn't given a choice to turn vampire or stay human, as his younger brother Frankie, as played by Michael Dorman, made that choice for him by biting him, and as a result has vowed to never drink human blood. Edward just doesn't like being a vampire). It's tough research as every new potential solution fails in the testing phase. But with blood riots popping up all over the world and increasing pressure to find a solution, Bromley wants Edward to work double-time. A solution must be found before it's too late.

Disillusioned by the unrealistic mandates of his nefarious boss, Edward decides to hook up with a band of human resistance fighters led by Audrey Bennett (Claudia Karvan) and the mysterious Lionel "Elvis" Cormac (Willem Dafoe), people he met one night by sheer coincidence (it was a car accident). Edward feels he can trust them more than he can trust Bromley and that they will better help facilitate his research. These human resistance fighters could very well hold the key to fixing the world's problems.



The way the story plays itself out is nothing short of brilliant, especially when we find out what's really going on. I won't give out specific spoilers here, but I will say this: the aliens in John Carpenter's "They Live" are distant cousins of the elite vampires on display here. In this vampire world everything has changed but nothing really has. The final gloriously gory sequence tells you everything you need to know about what "Daybreakers" is really all about. The movie's only real flaw is its lack of explanation of the mechanics of the vampire outbreak/plague. Why were people allowed to "decide" if they wanted to be a vampire? How and when did they make that decision? And how did the human resistance become the human resistance? Perhaps all of this will be explained in a sequel/prequel? I'm actually hoping for a combination sequel/prequel as origin stories are always best when they appear in quick flashbacks, at least that's my opinion. The way the subsiders subplot is dealt with is also very cool. It'll probably remind you of the great "Children of Men" in what it says about how people treat people.

The action sequences and makeup are nothing short of top notch. The car stunts are breathtaking, the shootouts are terrifying (a green laser sight is damn scary), and the blood and gore gags are stupendous. If you're not into what the movie is saying about the world and people, you'll definitely dig the flick's bountiful eye candy. The last ten minutes are a bloody, dark delight to behold. Really, truly fun, fun shit.



Ethan Hawke does a great job as Edward the hematologist. You can see how uncomfortable he is living forever (he has a great line about birthdays and how he's been celebrating his thirty fifth birthday for ten years straight and birthdays no longer mean anything) and you kind of root for his responsible scientist attitude when it comes to creating the blood substitute. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. There can be no half measures. Hawke also has great chemistry with Karvan, Dafoe, Dorman, and especially Neil. The early scenes with his brother Frankie are sad because you see how much they care for one another but they've got very different views on how the world should work (look at the way each one deals with a subsider that breaks into Edward's house). I've never been a fan of Hawke but he exceeds my expectations here.

Claudia Karvan isn't all that interesting at the get go as Audrey as she's kind of bland looking and you're not sure how you should take her. Yeah, she's a human resistance fighter, but what does she have going on beneath that tough, take no shit exterior? She's got more heart than you initially expect. I also like how she really isn't Hawke's love interest. They care for one another but she's not his. Michael Dorman, as Edward's brother Frankie, is brilliant and ultimately the heart of the movie. You can see that he's slowly growing a conscience and that his worldview is changing and you hope that he eventually makes the right decision but there's no guarantee that he will. And check out his final scene. Look at what happens to him. Great, great stuff.



And then there's Willem Dafoe as Lionel "Elvis" Cormac. He's easily the weirdest character in the movie (what's the deal with the pseudo Southern accent?). The way he figures into the story is somewhat unexpected as is his character's back story (I know I sure as heck didn't see his back story coming). You will love his cantankerous manner, his great one liners ("This is one ugly fucking house."), and his total commitment to being kind of ridiculous but in a good way. You're definitely going to remember him when the movie is over.



You're also going to remember Sam Neil as Charles Bromley, the head of the blood research corporation. Bromley's the bad guy of the flick, but you never really understand just how evil he is until the very end. You can almost relate to him and his problems with his daughter Alison as played by Isabel Lucas. She refused to turn into a vampire when the plague hit and she's been on the run ever since. He's wanted to see her and make her see his side of things and how great it is to be a vampire but she won't have any of it. They meet during the course of the movie, and it's a terrible yet thrilling sequence. Bromley is one of the best villains of the new decade. Neil once again earns his reputation for being awesome.

I don't think I can recommend "Daybreakers" enough. It's a great time at the movies, a great exercise in brilliant B-movie genre work, and hopefully a sign of things to come from the Spierig Brothers. They hit this one out of the freaking park.

See "Daybreakers." See it, see it, see it.

So what do we have here? A screeching bat, gratuitous personal flaming Kim Richards, gratuitous vampire government political chat show, gratuitous scary homeless vampire, gratuitous no vampire reflection in the mirror, gratuitous Ethan Hawke, a kid that smokes, vampires buying blood from a blood stand, gratuitous human blood farm, gratuitous Sam Neil, coffee with blood in it, a vampire ape, puking, exploding vampire, blood riots, blood related crimes, crossbow arrow to the arm, gratuitous nasty bat creatures, some serious decapitation, a vampire cop CSI team, gratuitous dark vampire paradise, gratuitous UV warning, tree talk, gratuitous Willem Dafoe, gratuitous Willem Dafoe singing "Burning Love," classic Mustang destruction, a great car chase, exploding bridge, gratuitous flashback with massive car crash and flying flaming body, hand slicing, blood dripping, an up close blood riot, exploding arrows, a very cool fire experiment, gratuitous green laser sights, a bad ass black Trans Am, a bloody aftermath, social commentary, serious neck biting, blood drinking, gratuitous massive vampire swarms, and a great ending that will hopefully lead to a sequel.

Best lines: "Not a coffee drinker?," "It's nuts out there," "You're human," "Happy birthday, Ed," "Hey, life's a bitch and then you don't die," "Fake blood doesn't mean the end of shit!," "Security alert: back door ajar," "Did you come to finish me off?," "Trees are the oldest living things on Earth. Did you know that?," "Lionel Cormac. My friends call me Elvis. I ain't gonna bite," "Motherfuckers!," "Motherfuckers! I loved that car," "Daytime driving, man. Nothing beats it," "The sun? You're human because of the sun?," "Do you like being a vampire, son?," "I was never very good at being human, sir," "Hell, it's about goddamn time!," "Usually when there's a vampire around I'm the one shitting my pants," "Being human in a world of vampires is as safe as bare backing a five dollar whore," "I don't care what the sign says. Just put some more fucking blood in my coffee," "Are you afraid to die?," "Fuck it. I do love a good barbeque," "You feel so warm," "She won't drink her blood rations, sir," "You're really human," "We're the folks with the crossbows," "This is one ugly fucking house," "If they find us we can't help her!," "The truth is you've always been a coward," "Don't do this," and "We have a cure. We can change you back. It's not too late."

The 411: "Daybreakers" is nothing short of awesome. There's just no other way to describe it. The Spierig Brothers have created a rich, dark cinematic world of vampire violence that just needs to be experienced. Awesome performances, awesome action bits, great gore gags, and a great story. I just hope that if and when there is a sequel we get an explanation as to how the vampire plague/outbreak happened. I'd really like to know how people decided if they wanted to be a vampire or not. See this freaking movie, man, See it, see it, see it.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]