Daybreakers (2009)

In a world 10 years into the future, vampires make up the vast majority of the population with only 5% of the human race remaining. This presents particular challenges as the vampires' food supply - human blood - is dwindling and rationing is now the norm. There is growing evidence that vampires deprived of an adequate blood supply are themselves evolving into wild, vile creatures that attack anyone and anything in order to survive. Dr. Edward Dalton, a vampire and hematologist who works for a pharmaceutical firm, has been working on finding an artificial blood supply that will meet the vampire society's needs. He is sympathetic to humans and sees his work as a way of alleviating their suffering but his views on finding a solution change considerably when he meets someone who found a way to transform himself from being a vampire to again take human form.

Perhaps one of the most original ideas out there today, it seemed to breath life into an otherwise dead genre, overdone by more popular vampires. It is a refreshing thing to see a movie about a society of vampires, especially one on the brink of extinction. My biggest gripe with this movie is that the story was not as fleshed out as it needed to be; I was left wanting more background on all the characters and a more developed story between Sam Neil's character and the daughter.

As a vampire fan, I'm usually disappointed with the twist writers add to their stories in an attempt to re-invent the wheel. Usually they err on the side of silly, artsy, and/or just plain boring. Thankfully, Daybreakers isn't one of those movies. No, it's not horror. It has some shocks here and there and it's bloody, but that's about all there is in terms of gore. Actually, it's a very good take on the excesses of our culture. Instead of man driving whatever animal du jour into extinction, Daybreakers has vampires driving human's to the brink of extinction with scientist trying to come up with a substitute food source. It's not overdone or heavy handed. Daybreakers is more of a Sci-fi future movie with vampires as the main humanoid, if you will. There are some creative takes on driving and everyday life that I rather enjoyed. I have to say, the movie has one of the best "home invasion" scenes I've ever seen. All in all, it was an entertaining 90 minutes.

****/*****

4/5 Stars