REVIEW: 'Daybreakers'

Rated: R (Strong bloody violence, language, and brief nudity)
Rated: R (Strong bloody violence, language, and brief nudity)

This may be yet another attempt to make an interesting vampire tale, but surprisingly, this one works.

"Daybreakers" stars Ethan Hawke as Edward Dalton, a researcher in the year 2019 when a mysterious plague transforms the world's population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, vampires must capture and farm every remaining human or find a blood substitute before time runs out.

However, a covert group of vampires makes a remarkable discovery that could save the human race.

Vampires will die from a lack of blood. Once the human population and the blood it supplies become harder to find, the vampires slowly begin to mutate into the frightful bat-like creatures we all are familiar with.

It has been some time since we've seen the likes of Ethan Hawke. I never would have imagined him in this role.

Every decent vampire movie I've seen depicts the cursed as powerful, intimidating beings that humans fear. This film serves as a good example of the current movie trend which shows vampires with far too many weaknesses to be frightful.

That said, the movie does break away, and manages to be different enough to have its moments. I liked how Edward Dalton appears unwavering in his desire to maintain his humanity although he is one of the undead.

I would have preferred a more tough-guy persona with the character, but since he is a researcher and not a warrior, it still works.

The most impressive performance comes from the humor injected into the mix by Willem Dafoe. His character (Lionel "Elvis" Cormac) delivers several one-liners each time a scene called for a little extra.

"Daybreakers" is not a great film, but does manage to be a good experience at the theatre.

3 Buckets.

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