Daybreakers (2010) Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig

"Immortality is the miracle; we are blessed."

In a world where humans are the minority, and vampires rule, a crisis is brewing.  Humans are farmed for blood, but at less than 5% of the population, the blood supply is running out.  Bromley Pharmaceuticals is the major supplier of blood for the world, and is working urgently to create a blood substitute.

Worse, as a vampire starves, they begin to take on animalistic characteristics, loosing mass in the frontal lobes, becoming a sub vampire monster, controlled utterly by their blood hunger.  And the incidence of these ‘subsiders' is on the rise.

This is the battle Hematologist Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is fighting; trying desperately to develop a blood substitute before the supply runs out.  He has less than 30 days.

Edward does not like being a vampire; he refuses to drink human blood, existing on pig's blood, but it is beginning to show, as his ears lengthen and point, the first sign of blood starvation.  None the less, when a car accident puts him in contact with a group of humans, he moves to save them, thereby earning the trust of Audrey Bennett (Claudia Karvan).  Audrey contacts Edward for help; as a hematologist, he might be able to make something of a discovery the human underground has made.

Lionel "Elvis" Cormac (William Defoe) is an ex-vampire.  Though he was a vampire for nine years, a car accident that threw him burning through the air into a watery ditch somehow jumpstarted his heart and cured him of his vampirism.  But there is a problem; Edward's brother (and sire) Frankie (Michael Dorman) is a human hunter for the military.  His complex and dysfunctional relationship with his brother leads him to follow Edward when he goes to meet the human underground.  On the run, they must figure out what cured Elvis, and duplicate it.

At the same time, Edward's complex relationship with his boss, Charles Bromley (Sam Neill) leads him to question if the powers that be will really do what he is wanting; will a blood substitute really free humanity from the blood farms, or will they continue to be the "gourmet" line?  And will a cure for vampirism really make things any better?  Bromley's human daughter, Alison (Isabel Lucas) doesn't think so.

The Analysis

This is a fine piece of dystopic Science Fiction.  Not really a horror movie, though it has its horrific thrills and chills, it is much deeper than your standard bloodsucker feature.  Instead it is a rather cynical look at commerce, where he who controls the supply of a vital commodity can make all of the demands.

The production is very good; the vampire world features underground walkway systems and cars with camera visuals to facilitate daytime driving.  Houses have windows with roll down shutters.  And everyone has fangs and amber eyes.

Worse, they delve into what it is like to be a kid, and a vampire.  Imagine being 12 forever.  The scenes with the vampire kids smoking are disturbing, but rational; those kids could be in their thirties.  Age is now irrelevant.  And this is given expression in the fashions and hairstyles, which almost hark back to the 1940's.  This gives the illusion of age to even the young and pretty.

The special effects on the subsiders is excellent; very nosferatu.  The transformation of arms into wing-like appendages is great; they can't fly, but it gives that whole mad beast taking over feel.

Finally, the acting.  Ethan Hawke, William Defoe, Sam Neill.  Do we need to say more?  There is a lot of star power here, and it delivers.  Because the best thing about Daybreakers is it is a human drama, and the real action takes place on the character's faces.

That is what makes this a definite cut above other creature features like Pandorum, or other vampire movies with vampires named Edward.  Ethan Hawke may not sparkle, but he shines, and so does this movie.

Like the Subsiders, this review is Lean-N-Mean at 666 concise words.

Bloodletting on Film and Page.  Vampires.

Blood For Dracula
Lost Boys: The Thirst
True Blood: Second Season
Twilight: Eclipse
Thirst
Dark Shadows: The Revival
Batman vs. Dracula
Marebito
Daybreakers
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Dracula
Blood: The Last Vampire
Cirque DuFreak: The Vampire's Assistant
Let the Right One In
Dead and Gone
True Blood
Twilight
Pathos II
PathosI
Perfect Creature
From Dusk 'Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter
From Dusk 'Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money
From Dusk 'Till Dawn
Lost Boys: The Tribe
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Near Dark
Dracula (1979)
Vampire$
The Lost Boys
30 Days of Night

Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Scary Movie
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.