Daybreakers

(WARNING: THIS MOVIE ISN”T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART)

Those Spierig brothers are at it again (Undead, 2003)! And this time, these aren’t your average Twilight vampires. They won’t protect you from werewolves. These vampires will slash, bash, and gash just to get that last drop of human blood, or die trying.

The year is 2019. 10 years ago, a plague has transformed much of the world’s humans into blood-sucking vampires. Now, only 5% of the human population remains. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke, Training Day) is a vampire scientist (yes, I know, great original vampire name) trying to find a blood substitute for the dwindling human blood supply, because if the vampires do not get the required amount of blood, they would mutate into demonic winged creatures called subsiders and have an uncontrollable urge for human blood. He has no one to turn to with his prospects for finding a cure to save humanity. With his brother Frankie (Micheal Dorman, Walnut) is the army and a human hunter, and with the company he works for being a house for human cattle, it seems that all Edward can do is wait for the Vampire race to die out. While on his way home, Edward ends up in a fender bender with an SUV containing some of the last free humans. Soon after, the police arrive and Edward hides the humans in his car, proving to the humans that he is a trustworthy vampire that will help them with their cause. After making contact with a human woman who was in the SUV, Edward sets up a meeting with a human that has discovered a possible cure to the vampirism. And with the whole vampire population on the brink of world wide famine, could this human know the cure?

This movie was crazy! The directors gave the audience some good ol’ fashioned vampires that don’t play footsie with humans. And with bodies exploding, heads being ripped off, guts flying through the air, it’s nice for people who don’t really enjoy the gore genre to have a great actor as a companion through this demonic hell. Ethan Hawke was at the top of his game, and with costars such as Sam Niell (Jurassic Park I and III) and Isabel Lucas (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), the chemistry between these vampires were a thousand times better than the supposed vampire chemistry in the Twilight series.

However, the special effects weren’t as up to date with technology as some movies, such as Avatar and Transformers, are. Also, some of the scenes were just rushed through, while other seemingly unimportant scenes were dragged on far too long.

Overall, this movie isn’t a must see, yet a great movie for fans off blood spewing, gore splattering action. But if you’re looking for a sappy human-vampire love story, you’re looking in the wrong theater.

2 1/2 stars out of 4