Film Review: Daybreakers
Daybreakers (2010)
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: January 8, 2010
Directed by: The Spierig Brothers
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe, Isabel Lucas
Review by: Britt Hayes
It’s the year 2019, and in the not-too-distant future vampirism has overtaken society like a disease. There are less than 5% of humans left alive, and it is now the sole objective of our military to hunt them down and bring them to Bromley Marks, a large corporation whose main income comes from keeping humans alive and farming them for blood to sell through their profitable blood bank. Working for Bromley Marks is Ed Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a hematologist tasked with finding a sustainable blood substitute. With so few humans left alive, the blood supply is running short, and without blood, vampires evolve (or rather, devolve) into frightening creatures called Subsiders – gnarly, primitive-looking creatures who mostly live in subways but are slowly making their way into neighborhoods. And more and more well-to-do vampires are turning into Subsiders with the shortage of human blood.
At the head of the corporation is Charles Bromley (Sam Neill, cue Jurassic Park theme), who is desperate to find a blood substitute because investors are slowly pulling out, and he’s running out of doped-up humans to farm in his Matrix-like holding tank. With a blood substitute, the vampires will have something they can live off of while the humans repopulate themselves, and Bromley can sell the much-coveted human blood for a very high price. Ka-ching.
The premise is new and refreshing for a genre that has been flooded with sparkles and repressed teenage hormones, bad greasy hair and Kristen Stewart’s lip-biting. Typically I find it easy, even in the worst cases, to let a film take me where it wants me to go. Sometimes it’s hard to find anything to appreciate in a film when you’re standing on the outside, resistant to letting yourself go with the flow. The problem with Daybreakers is that it doesn’t fully take you anywhere. It seems to stand on the precipice of something great, but it just falls flat. It’s like erectile dysfunction: the potential is there, and there seems to be a definite urge and desire, but when it comes time to deliver and you’re excited for the promise of something electrifying, it just doesn’t work out. You’re left unfulfilled and dissatisfied.
There is so much potential for Daybreakers to be an excellent film. The cast is fantastic, from the seemingly immortal Ethan Hawke (has he aged at all since the 90′s?), to the oft-overlooked Sam Neill, and the fantastic Willem Fucking Dafoe as a human with a potentially game-changing secret.
Directors (and brothers) Michael and Peter Spierig have created not only a visually-stunning film, but one that is well-crafted and superbly directed to boot. I could find not one complaint with their choices in cinematography, and see a wildly successful future for these two. Daybreakers isn’t just a stylish film – it’s polished. The vampires in Daybreakers have no reflections, and as such, their reflections often only show their clothing. I imagine it’s a painstaking process, going in and editing out every vampire from every reflective surface. I searched high and low throughout the film for any missed vampires in reflections, and gladly found none.
Unfortunately, some secret ingredient seems to be missing. The story is, as aforementioned, refreshing for the vampire sub-genre. But there’s something about it that feels yawn-inducing until the last twenty minutes or so. Daybreakers is heavily inundated with symbolism and social commentary. A little nuance and subtlety would’ve been greatly appreciated. From the outset, the big corporation is involved with the government, which calls to mind our own government and its vested interests in companies like Halliburton and KBR. There are also notes of living green and sustainability. Ed Dalton is a vampire who doesn’t drink human blood and wants to find a way to create a sustainable source. Naturally, this is not in the interest of big business.
And of course, the commentary on health care. Ed Dalton’s real desire is to find a cure since he himself was turned against his will, but once again, a cure is not the best interest of the Bromley Marks corporation. While they hide behind research and the visage of doing good and providing much-needed help to society, their real interests lie in whatever makes them the most money. But all of this commentary doesn’t feel new, and it fails to speak to the viewer on any deep and meaningful level. It feels more like a slideshow of current affairs, wrapped up in a stylish metaphorical bow.
All repetitive social commentary aside, Daybreakers fails to build a solid rhythm and ends up falling into a familiar, formulaic pattern. There were several moments during the film where my boyfriend and I disappointingly predicted what would happen next, down to the exact moment. By the time the climax hits, it’s not nearly as exciting as it could’ve been, had the Spierig brothers worked out some more desirable pacing. Many parts of the film meant to be serious and shocking came off unintentionally funny, and not just to myself: a few other audience members in my row were giggling as well.
Another let down is the intermittent and unnecessary use of CG blood. Many of the gorier moments have practical blood, but some of the scenes inexplicably involve the use of CG. It seems ridiculous to use CG blood when practical is cheaper and more realistic. When Daybreakers utilizes practical effects, it does so beautifully. The creature design on the Subsiders recalls a mixture between the cave dwellers in The Descent and the more primitive vampire look on Gary Oldman in Coppola’s Dracula. While the sun-induced fiery vampire deaths aren’t as polished as the rest of the film’s effects, I find it hard to recall many sunny vampire deaths being that great, either. The last time I was impressed by a vampire being killed by the sun was at the end of Blade 2. It’s been a while.
Daybreakers isn’t a total loss. Like said, there’s some terrific potential, and everything really comes together during the exceptionally bloody climax. After being disappointed by so much of the rest of the film, I found myself cheering for the inevitable bloodbath. The only real issue I have with the end of the film is one scene involving the soldiers, which seems to speak to the government and corporations making our soldiers into savage and bloodthirsty killers. Putting this scene in slow motion really only emphasizes this point, and once again, unintentional laughter erupted from our section of the audience.
Spread throughout the film sporadically are other great moments of blood and gore, moments that elicited child-like giggling and giddiness. A vampire test subject for a blood substitute formula and the ensuing mishap is fantastically gross to watch, and I wish the film had more moments like this before its conclusion.
The near-future vampire world the Spierig brothers created is fascinating, and I only wish they had spent a little more time in that world, showing us more of the day-to-day functions of this new society. The humans felt extremely weak, nothing close to the strong human resistance we usually see in post-apocalyptic fare like 28 Days Later. These humans are equipped with crossbows and fold easily.
Daybreakers may have some issues, and it’s not a perfect film, but there are some good moments. It’s always a shame when a film has all the potential to be great, and only ends up succeeding in being “okay”. Sadly, the best moments come at the end, and it almost feels a little too late. Put this in the “great films that almost were” file.
