- From Fangoria.com

“Life’s a bitch, and then you don’t die,” so says Bromley Marks Pharmaceutical’s hematologist Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) after a long night of work developing a new blood substitute. If this sounds off the beaten path for a typical horror movie, you’d be right. Especially considering that our hero Dalton, his co-workers and the rest of the public are, as suggested by the previous quip, vampires. Vampires that have literally engulfed the world, leaving the last remaining humans in hiding for fear of being captured and their remaining pure blood harvested.

That may be the set up to Daybreakers, co-director’s Michael and Peter Spierig follow-up to the 2004 cult zombie flick UNDEAD, but it’s only the beginning of this elaborate yarn. In an even more unique twist, the worst of the starving vampires are rapidly devolving into ferocious, flesh-winged, bat-like “Subsiders”, terrorizing the otherwise well-adjusted population of undead.

After a test run of a new bloody elixir results in what can only be described to viewers as an extreme case of medical malpractice, more problems arise. As if being in serious need of a new lab coat isn’t bad enough, Dalton accidentally encounters one of the last remaining bands of humans. Perhaps most importantly, he’s introduced to Lionel ‘Elvis’ Cormac (a scene… no, wait, movie-stealing performance by Willem Dafoe), the crossbow toting, Elvis singing/mantra quoting, car detailing resistance leader who may possess a cure to the entire condition. This, however, does not impress pharmaceutical head Bromley (Sam Neill), who explains that a cure is not good for the blood business.

As expected, the cast does a lot to sell what becomes an increasingly complicated story. Hawke plays the straight-faced lead with a commendable seriousness, Neill imbues his self-serving corporate leader with appropriate iciness and Dafoe lets his freak flag fly with an exaggerated, but not-too-over-the-top kind of relish.

Perhaps the most fun is to be seen in the details of the retro-stylized production design and photography. The vampire workaday, or in this case, workanight world is beautifully captured and results in more than a few humorous sight gags. These range from patriotic vampire signage to hot coffee stands that add human blood in place of cream (the red stain smearing across the liquid’s surface as it is stirred in – apparently vampires don’t mind their blood curdled). The directors also have fun with little visual cues, including a driver’s side mirror that displays the car but not the person sitting within. All of this is cast in a stylishly cold blue color palate by cinematographer Ben Nott (who also shot the Stephen King anthology series NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES) that is well contrasted with the sun-bleached hues used following the introduction of the human characters.

The script goes to great lengths to develop this interesting new world and the numerous characters within it. Yet at times it might go a bit too far. Where one would have expected the film to deal primarily with Edward’s battle with his corporate foe or even the imposing threat of a full-on Subsider outbreak (these creatures are almost completely abandoned by the filmmakers by the picture’s close), it instead labours to wrap up several dramatic subplots. These include Dalton’s strained relationship with his brother Frankie (Michael Dorman), the fate of a group of rouge human survivors (including female lead, Claudia Karvan), villain Bromley’s estranged connection with his human, outcast daughter (Isabel Lucas) and a bit of inter-lab scooping between the hero and rival scientist Chris (Vince Colosimo). When added together, all of the subplots, in particular Bromley’s, ultimately end up slowing the film’s momentum late in the second act. Or maybe I’m just upset that it took more screen time away from Dafoe’s Cormac.

However, more than making up for this is what we do see of “Elvis” and impressive visuals that include a high-energy car chase and a surprise Subsider attack. The make-up and creature effects (by Oscar-winners WETA) are effective as well, with a lot of practical gruesomeness on display. This is, of course, in addition to the numerous computer augmentations as vampires explode in a punchy, golden, digital poof after having their hearts punctured. There are some admittedly effective scare jolts too, via some quick camera pans and the at times jarring sound design.

Though many (myself included) will be happy to see the execution of the overly familiar vampire concept in an unusual fashion, fans of the Undead’s numerous homages will also be pleased to note that the Spierig brothers have still managed to work in an obvious nod here and there. Gone are all TWILIGHT-esque dramatic broodings and Anne Rice inspired super-suave conventions. Instead, viewers are led to a climactic showdown that features blood-thirsty vampires feeding on victims by tearing them to pieces in a manner more reminiscent of George A. Romero’s “Dead” series.

In summary, there are a lot of interesting and unique elements to the film, even if it does at times feel overstuffed. The biggest compliment that can be bestowed is that DAYBREAKERS leaves the audience wanting to see more of several characters and its settings. And that alone is so much more than can be said of recent vampire flicks (this means you, UNDERWORLD series).