Reviews: Daybreakers (2009) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action, Fantasy, Vampires, Monsters
Subgenres: Thriller, Vampires, Apocalypse, Mutants, Sci-Fi
Our review of Daybreakers (2009) dives into the story, the scares, and whether it truly delivers the horror fans crave.
Daybreakers (2009) is a 1h 38-min rate R Australian science-fiction action horror film that was shot in several locations in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Directors and writers Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig are two brothers that have also directed Predestination (2014), Undead (2003), and The Big Picture (2000) together. The brothers did wonders with this movie that went with the idea of if vampires take over the world where individuals work their usual jobs but at nights now. The screenplay is by far anything from original, but it was executed in a way that made it different as it had its own special touches throughout the film.
Police officers went about their business as usual which is cracking down on homeless people who cannot locate sufficient sources of blood and cannot afford the price for Bromley Marks’ product. The homeless people ends up starving which results in them transforming into savages. Tunnels that looks like skywalks are built to help shield the citizens from the sun when traveling in the day and cars are equipped with specialized cameras that allow them to drive in the daytime with their cars shielded with UV shielding.
Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke - Gattaca (1997), Before Sunset (2004), Training Day (2001), Before Sunrise (1995)) is a vampire that did not want to turn and is not happy with the never ending vampiric life and so is many other vampires. Edward gets his blood supply from animals and is working on a blood substitute because he wants it for himself and humans. Edward looks like an average person if you are not looking at his eyes and teeth.
Ethan Hawke gave us a convincing performance as he tries to retain his humanity although he is having darker urges for blood. Sam Neill came in second place for his performance on my list as he did an excellent job portraying his character. Daybreakers did a fantastic job representing our daily life and differed from another vampire movie with its social commentary. There is no romantic feel to the film and no vampire falling in love with a human, but it has an urban feel to it. One of the main things that the movie expressed to me is that life is not all sunshine, and we cannot get everything we want. I would recommend Daybreakers to all horror and vampire fans because it was a good movie.
Similar films like Daybreakers can be found in vampire movies, vampire movies, monster movies, and monster movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like Daybreakers.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Daybreakers Rating Scores
- Our Score: 6/10
- Overall Score: 6.22/10
- IMDB: 6.4/10
- MetaCritic: 5.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 6.9/10
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