After hitting critical success with their film Undead, The Spierig Brothers were given not only more money to play with, but an all-star Hollywood cast to fill their toy box. The result? Daybreakers, a semi-apocalyptic vampire flick that tells the story of a world where humans are an endangered species, and the world’s vampire population needs to come up with a way to either come up with more blood sometime soon, or a cure to their vampirism.
Daybreakers was released theatrically this past Friday nationwide, and stars Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, and Willem Dafoe.
Check out my review after the jump!
![daybreakers-movie-poster Daybreakers is in movie theaters now.](http://ideologyofmadness.spookyouthouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/daybreakers-movie-poster-202x300.jpg)
Daybreakers is definitely an example of the visual flair that the Spierig Brothers have become known for – you get a mix of guys like Michael Bay, The Wachowski Brothers, Zach Snyder, and even a little Sam Raimi thrown in for good measure. While this leads to a 90% excellent looking movie, you also, unfortunately, get the excesses that all of those directors are known for. I found myself giggling at a couple of the melodramatic scenes, filled with loud, booming heroic music, beautiful sunsets with sillouetted characters walking towards it.
Still, despite a bit of the feeling of being overdone, the film is definitely beautiful and, if not seen theatrically, certainly Blu-Ray worthy. When you get past the visual flair though, you also get a pretty gripping story that, while not entirely original, is certainly interesting enough to keep you entertained. I’ve never been a huge fan of Ethan Hawke, and he plays a little bit of the cliched, “vampire with a heart of gold” part in the film, but he does the most he can with the material. Willem Dafoe, another guy I don’t normally like, also managed to do a great job in the film, as did Sam Neill, vamping it up (ha) as the main antagonist.
Daybreakers doesn’t drag at all during its running time – from the beginning to the end, the momentum never falters, and the film, despite not really having a ton of action, feels action-packed. You get some great set pieces, and some great ideas. Unfortunately, you get a bit too much story for a 98-minute film. I felt like I missed parts of the story, and things seem to escalate in a short amount of time to a point that feels a little disjointed, all while another story continues largely unaffected by something that seems like it should affect it.
I’m really thankful we’re getting so many anti-Twilight vampire material from Hollywood – this film is a good mix of the romanticized Vampires we’ve gotten used to, along with the brutal Nosferatu-esque vampires that manage to lend to many of the film’s scares. Daybreakers is a good way to spend an evening, and though it may not end up changing the way we view the vampire film, is a good start to the Spierig’s Hollywood output – I look forward to seeing what’s next from them!
![awesome71 Paul's Awesomeness Score - 7 out of 10](http://ideologyofmadness.spookyouthouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/awesome71.png)