Daybreakers | Movies

Review

This is no Twilight

by Samuel Downing

"Daybreakers" is the sort of schlocky, over-the-top stuff that you get a kick out of even though you probably shouldn't.

Despite its vampire-centric plot, this is no "Twilight": the bloodsuckers in "Daybreakers" have taken over the world, harvesting blood from an ever-dwindling number of humans. But there's now a blood shortage, and it's causing starving vamps to degenerate from cool sophisticates into feral monsters.

Our hero is Edward (Ethan Hawke) - who, like that other vampire named Edward, is a bit of a wet blanket and refuses to drink human blood a scientist who's been tasked with finding a synthetic blood substitute by smirking corporate overlord Charles (Sam Neill).

After Edward rescues Audrey (Claudia Karvan, sporting an enormous crossbow and a convincing American accent), a member of the human resistance movement, he's invited to meet rebel leader Elvis (Willem Dafoe) - a vampire who has somehow discovered a way to turn himself back into a human.

"Daybreakers" is written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, who've "heavily borrowed" (that's the diplomatic way of putting it) the noirish, Americanised look of the film straight from "The Matrix". To their credit, you'd never know that the bleak city scenes were filmed in their native Queensland.

The brothers add some interesting flourishes to the vampire canon - cars with blacked-out windows - though ultimately the film has a half-baked, B-movie feel despite its ultra-serious tone. The over-the-top, black-comedy gore doesn't lessen this impression.

But the Spierigs have nevertheless pulled off something ambitious and fun, even if "Daybreakers" isn't as slick and polished as it tries to be.