DayBreakers is a decent vampire action thriller that has some flaws which I'll get into later but overall this movie was a little better than expected. Writer/Directors Michael and Peter Spierig are admirable in making this movie about a plague that has transformed almost every human on earth into vampires. With a dwindling blood supply, one researcher tries to find a way to save the human race before it's too late and all hell breaks loose upon their world. Ethan Hawke turns in a solid performance as Edward Dalton the researcher who doesn't drink human blood anymore because he sympathizes with them and their situation. Ethan Hawke may not win any awards for his role but he still gives a good performance as the hero of the film who switches sides in order to save the human race from extinction. Williem Dafoe is equally as impressive Lionel "Elvis" Cormac a man who use to be a vampire but has miraculously turned back to being human. Dafoe brings a lot to his role and provides some much needed comic relief to the film " We're the folks with the crossbows." Dafoe is effective as the second lead who asks for Edward's help in saving their race from being wiped off the face of their own world. Well done. Sam Neill is decent as the villain Charles Bromley despite not being given a whole lot to do. Neill like Dafoe brings a lot to his role as the villain and he does give a convincing performance none the less of a selfish vampire hell bent on harvesting the humans for blood. I just wish they had given him more to do than walk around his building and talk to people. The rest of the cast are okay in their limited screen time including Isabel Lucas from Transformers 2 whose part in this as Neill's rebellious daughter is more of an extended appearance but she does what her role requires though. The special effects are quite effective and they look real even if you can tell it's CG. There's plenty of blood, guts, gore, and limbs being ripped off which is sure to please almost any die hard horror genre fan. I felt they did attempt to develop the the main characters (mostly Edward) rather than diving right into the action for a change which they could easily had done considering most films like this just get right to the spectacle instead of trying to tell a compelling story with characters who are at least developed enough so you know a little bit about them before the action really starts to kick into high gear. I'd say the second half is where the action becomes more frequent including a well executed chase sequence thats sure to please action junkies. The "subsider" vampires are effective in their limited screen time who have mutated into something far more deadly because of the low blood supply and are a growing threat not only to the remaining humans but to their own kind as well. Now that I've talked about what I did enjoy I'll get into what I thought could've been improved. Some of the characters are sort of given the short end of the stick development wise and there were a few predictable moments. Also Sam Neill's character could've been a great villain but as I mentioned before I just wish they had given him more to work with besides walking around his corporate building and speaking to people. Neill like Lucas does what his role requires I guess. If they had improved on some of the flaws Daybreakers would've been much better but it was still a decent film for what it was. So if you're enjoy vampire movies than this one is sure to fit the bill and will please almost any die hard fan of the genre. Daybreakers has an interesting story with just enough action, blood, guts, gore, some humor, drama, and solid performances by the cast (Hawke and especially Dafoe) who make this vampire film worth the time to watch at least once.
Review of Daybreakers
