Original, Stylish ‘Daybreakers’ With Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe

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Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – In the early part of the last decade, Michael and Peter Spierig (The Spierig Brothers) debuted with the unique zombie cult hit “Undead” and horror nuts waited to see what they’d do next. It took way too long but the brothers are back with the stylish, original “Daybreakers,” a vampire film that injects new life into an often-dead genre.

The world of the horror film, so often based on graphic novels, old films, or successful books, has been tragically devoid of unique ideas for years. When an original screenplay is produced for a horror film, it’s tempting to embrace it with open arms. Hardcore horror nuts should flip for “Daybreakers,” a film with enough new ideas to make its flaws incredibly easy to overlook. It’s a shame that The Spierig Brothers couldn’t match their concept and style with things like character and dialogue, but this is clearly a cult hit in the making and horror fans should eat it up like a vampire with a fresh kill.

A scene featuring Ethan Hawke (center) as Edward Dalton in Daybreakers.
Photo credit: Ben Rothstein/Universal

“Daybreakers” takes place in 2019, ten years after the beginning of an outbreak in which most humans turned to bloodsuckers. Most. There are a few small groups of humans fighting for survival and some truly poor souls being barely kept alive as a food source. It turns out that the vampires have faced a stark realization - with no humans, there’s no sustenance. Worldwide panic is starting to set in as people fight for food.

And it’s not just a hunger thing. It turns out that vampires get ugly when they get hungry and turn into something called a “subsider”. Basically, well-fed vamps look like Edward Cullen. Hungry ones look like Nosferatu. And the ugly, hungry ones are breaking vampire society’s rules and threatening to bring it to a halt. The race to find a suitable blood substitute gets more urgent by the day.

Leading the charge is hematologist Edward (Ethan Hawke), a vampire with a heart of gold, who works for the nefarious Bromsley Marks Corp. (led by a super-slimy Sam Neill). Edward gets into a car accident with a group of fleeing humans led by the gorgeous Audrey (Claudia Karvan), who takes him to meet their leader, a man named Elvis (Willem Dafoe), who happens to be a former vampire. Yes, Elvis has found a cure.

Daybreakers.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

Complicating matters are the human daughter (Isabel Lucas) of the head of BMC and Edward’s Vampire Army brother (Michael Dorman). The rest of the film is basically made up of Elvis, Ed, and Audrey trying to stay one step ahead of the forces that may not be too happy about a cure for immortality.

Naturally, the concept of “Daybreakers” makes for a clever metaphor about the depletion of our own natural resources but there’s much more to it than just the foundation. The script plays with well-worn myths about the vampire legend in effective ways, including the “cure,” which is actually quite clever when deeply considered. There are also a few unexpected twists and turns that must be admired on a purely structural level, although a few seem underdeveloped as if perhaps the film was cut up a bit in the editing room. I think there may be a better director’s cut in the future.

Possibly most importantly, “Daybreakers” is never boring. The film has style to spare and Hawke, Dafoe, and Neill lend a credibility to the proceedings that it wouldn’t have with lesser stars.

In fact, “Daybreakers” is proof that concept and cast can go pretty far when it comes to enjoying a horror film. Only when you think about the fact that the dialogue is pretty paper-thin and that there aren’t really enough memorable action set-pieces does “Daybreakers” suffer. While it’s playing, however, “Daybreakers” is a bolt of sunlight in a typically dark genre.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com