Movie Review: Daybreakers (2010)
By SAMPURNSaturday, May 29, 2010
May 29, 2010 (Sampurn Wire):Daybreakers- Entertaining And Provocative
Rating: 3 out of 5*
Starring: Sam Neil, Ethan Hawke, Claudia Karvan and William Dafoe
Director: Peter and Michael Spierig
With the recent fan frenzy trend involving vampires (’True Blood’, ‘New Moon’), the producers of ‘Daybreakers’ picked the perfect time to release this gothic movie. Starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe, the movie, which was shot more than two years ago, is clever and gory enough to keep horror-seekers happy.
The human race is dangerously in the verge of extinction by 2019. Vampirism multiplied like a wildfire through society in the superseding years when humanity started ruling the earth thus leaving only a handful of human intent on rejecting the compromises associated with immortality. Those who escaped the initial wave of fanged attacks were quickly rounded up and used as a blood supply for the transitioning population, who rely on a regular dose of human blood to maintain a civilized society.
Some of others, who cannot have control over that, will ultimately shift into instinct-driven creatures known as ‘subsiders’, drinking their own blood and attack human or vampire alike. As with any population reliant on a finite resource, the vampire leaders soon find themselves on the verge of a disastrous blood shortage, with the harvested human population wearing thin.
When the leader of the primary blood supply company, Charles Bromley (Sam Neill) knows that subside mutations can threaten the endurance of the dominant vampire race, he approaches his chief hematologist Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) with the hope that they’ll be able to create a blood substitute. But Dalton, who has zero loyalty to his vampire community, soon becomes entangled with a small band of human rebels who possess the secret to turn the tide back in humanity’s favor.
Michael and Peter Spierig, a.k.a. “the Spierig Brothers,” the writer and director of the blend sci-fi, action and suspense with just the right amount of social commentary sprinkled here and there to make it an intriguing and thrilling ride that doesn’t require you to check your brain at the door for the entire duration.
The brilliant opening scene gives you a reminder that you’re not watching a run-of-the-mill sci-fi action film. The Spierig Brothers also include great make-up and CGI effects that add a lot of visual style to the film along with some blood-and-guts for shock value. Amongst the actors, William Dafoe and Ethan Hawke deliver the best.
The film running time is of 1 hour and 38 minutes, within this time, Daybreakers manages to be a suspenseful, visually stylish and gory sci-fi thriller that’s simultaneously entertaining and provocative.
-Sampurn Wire
