TIFF 2009: DAYBREAKERS

Daybreakers

Released: 2009

Directed by: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Williem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan, Isabel Lucas, Sam Neill

Genre: Horror/Vampire, Thriller

Short Review:

Daybreakers takes place in a near future where a plague emerges that converts the majority of the human race into vampires. This film is part of the Midnight Madness lineup at TIFF and it lives up the blood and gore that the program is well known for, but I feel the film possesses more of a social-political standpoint than simply a gorefest. While I have a few minor complaints about the film’s pacing, it is still a worthy addition to an already overflowing vampire film market.

Full Review:

What if a plague surfaces that causes individuals to become vampires? Would the world end? Would there be anarchy in the streets? Or would it simply be business as usual until night fell? For the film Daybreakers the latter seems most appropriate. However there is one problem, of the world’s population only 4% are humans and as a result the amount of human blood available to the vampire community is drastically low - to the point that there will not be enough to last the rest of the month. The side effect of a vampire not drinking blood on a regular basis causes them to mutate into a feral bat-like creature referred to as Subsiders.

The film centers on Edward (Ethan Hawke) a vampire working for a major pharmaceutical distributor that is attempting to create a synthetic blood that would provide nourishment after all the humans are dead (think Tru Blood). On his way home, he accidentally runs another vehicle off the road, but learns that the passengers were actual humans and decides to have mercy on them causing their lives to be intertwined. We learn that Edward is not your typical vampire, he is more along the lines of Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  He mainly drinks pig’s blood and despises the fact that his company has humans imprisoned and are being slowly drained of their blood.

The vampire lore associated with this film’s vamps were not from one specific resource but incorporates all the director’s favourite characteristics that have arisen from history. They cannot go into sunlight, so there are no sparkly vampires here, they have no reflections and maybe a slight increase in speed and strength. I found it very interesting how they incorporated the vampire lore on such a mass level and that everyone has simply adapted to this change.  Because the vampire community has become the ‘norm’ it has essentially made human beings into the outcasts.

I want to stress the amazing creation of this brave new world, where because of the upsurge in the vampire population the civilization had to adapt to this drastic, new change. All the cars are equipped with cameras on all sides and tinted windows so that the sun does not fry the driver and passengers. While blood is the primary source of nourishment for vampires, I really liked seeing the blood being mixed into other food items, mainly coffee, but I could not help but notice that a lot of vampires smoked.  I found it quite interesting because it feels that everyone is attempting to hold onto their old habits but at the same time taking full advantage of something that would have killed them in a past life.

There is a lot more to discuss about the film, such as the comparison between this world’s strict blood rationing to the real world’s Australian water rationing that is happening. In addition, there is the vampirism of regular items/cultural icons like vamp-uncle Sam “wanting you for the vampire army,” the wonderful visual style the film possesses (reminiscent of a mixture of Equilibrium and Minority Report) as well as the wonderful cast including Williem Dafoe and Sam Neill. Overall, Daybreakers is an entertaining vampire film with more stress being played on the atmosphere and political backdrop than the gory aspects commonly associated with Midnight Madness movies.

SHARP OBJEX Rating: 3.5 out of 4

Daybreakers Trailer

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