Starring: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Isabel Lucas, Sam Neill
Director: Peter and Michael Spierig (first major feature)
Running Time: 1 hr 38 min
Release Date: Jan. 8, 2010
Budget: $20 million
Critics’ Thumbs Up: 57%
“A darkly stylish horror film.” Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
“…unavoidably silly…” Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Though vampires run rampant, this bloody sci-fi thriller is not for the Twilight teen fan base. Whereas the aforementioned vampire flick is romantic and of relatively light subject matter, Daybreakers is violent and apocalyptic. In the year 2019, a global epidemic has led to the near extinction of the human race as everyone has turned into bloodthirsty vampires. When few survivors are left, however, it leads to a blood shortage, for which a scientist (Hawk) looks for a cure. While Daybreakers attempts to strike up a political commentary, it’s often too heavy-handed. Otherwise, it suffers from lousy dialogue, silly situations and few scary moments.
