Daybreakers is a Deal Breaker

Daybreakers: great talent, original plot, good direction and even some great bloody action mean nothing when the story elements are so illogical and sophomoric that the film falls apart. That is Daybreakers: a vampire fest where vampires rule and humans are simply cattle. Think Matrix with blood instead of energy.

Ethan Hawke is Edward, our hero, a reluctant vampire hematologist trying desperately to find a blood substitute for millions of starving vampires. Meanwhile his brother, and maker, Frankie (Michael Dorman) hunts humans to bolster the short supply of nutritious, delicious red stuff. Neither Edward nor Frankie are happy about the arrangement but both are rather stuck, that is until Lionel (Willam Dafoe), a former vampire, kidnaps Edward to perpetuate the cure.

Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), the head of the largest supplier of human blood and chief in the hunt for the substitute blood, Edwards boss has a different idea. He plans to corner the market for blood despite the dying humans and soon to be starving vamps. Not terribly clever of course for starving vampires are just a bit dangerous. This is the big flaw in Daybreakers: only humans hunt their only food supply to extinction. Vampires tend to be smarter.

The acting, with Ethan Hawke, Sam Niell and Willam Dafoe in the leads, is quite good. The plot is mostly original and well thought out, if not ruined with the illogical story, and the action reasonable. Unfortunately, for the reason just mentioned, I cannot recommend Daybreakers. There’s no reason humans are dying other than neglect. Oh, and of course, there’s an evil corporation behind it (this element is getting a little old).

There are so many good vampire films from which to pick, select Daybreakers only if you’re desperate.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.