'Daybreakers' Review

Don't let their appearance fool you. These are vampires including Ethan Hawke in center. Watch the preview for a good plot summary: http://www.daybreakersmovie.com/

I'm a fan of vampire films and novels. I still think Bram Stoker's Dracula is the scariest novel I've ever read. So when a new movie about vampires is advertised and the preview looks good, I try to see it in the theater before it goes to DVD. The last one I've seen but only on DVD was Let The Right One In, an earlier blog entry. The preview for Daybreakers looked enticing so I decided to catch a Saturday matinee. I went alone because my wife is getting over the extraction of two wisdom teeth and wasn't interested in seeing fangs and more blood.
>>The story takes place ten years in the future where a mass infection has changed most of the population into vampires while the remaining humans are hunted for their blood. You can't tell who are the vampires except from their yellow eyes, longish incisors, and chalky skin which are downplayed to be not noticeable at first. A chain smoking Ethan Hawke plays a vampire hematologist seeking a substitute for human blood as its scarceness is creating world unrest. He will not drink human blood, an act defying his nasty corporate boss played by Sam Neill whose corporation sells blood milked from captive humans and wants to capitalize on the shortage.
>>Hawke saves some humans on the run and they eventually believe he wants to help them. When he meets Willem Dafoe, a former vampire cured during an accident, he uses him to learn how to duplicate the cure and maybe save the world. Meanwhile Neill enlists Hawke's soldier brother to track them down as he wants no cure found since it would destroy his profitable monopoly.
>>The filmmakers give Daybreakers a steely blue-gray high tech look for night scenes that blends well with the vampires' unsettling appearance. There's plenty of gore but spaced well within the plot. If you think you've seen enough vampire movies with the usual cliches, this one has a few surprises placed amid the action and suspense. The cast is up to the task including Dafoe who offers good support with a few wisecracks that lighten the darkness. This is one well done creepy film for fans of this genre.