Review

Review Date: 10-January-10
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Daybreakers (2010)

There is a definite scale of B movies. The aggressively stupid form the low end of the scale along with the purely incompetent and indulgently quirky. Flicks that have cheesy dialogue and effects but express something with a degree of style form the high end of the scale. This is where Daybreakers sits. As science fiction that does not insult one's intelligence, it makes a decent show despite a laughably over-the-top ending.

Catering to current trends, Daybreakers features vampires and occasional scenes of horror, but it actually addresses the future in a disturbingly realistic sense. The story takes place in 2019 when almost everybody on Earth has become a vampire. A decade is a short time to adjust to such a big change, but already the populace regards humans as "them" instead of "us" or even "our former selves." The rapid acceptance of the change may stem from the fact that humans are now the primary food source. They are hunted like animals, stored in vast warehouses, and hooked to machines that pump them dry. They are also about to become extinct, which means the vampires' survival is also threatened.

This is where Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) comes in. As a scientist working for the company that harvests human blood, he is rushing to find a substitute before the natural supply runs out. The pressure is on because vampires going hungry are starting to shrivel up, sprout wings, and feed on each other, so the fabric of society is shredding. Most shortsighted citizens also view these starving creatures as "them" even though they are all headed down the same road. I like this part best, the idea of chaos following closely behind an essential resource's disappearance, and the gulf between rich and poor becoming blatant when this happens. (Oil is the obvious real-life analogy, but the movie often depicts coffee as another widespread addiction. A world suddenly forced into decaffeination: now that would be scary!)

Edward is unusual in that he regrets both his becoming a vampire and the destruction of the human race. He hopes his work might free humans from their wasting bondage, which prompts clashes with his cruel boss (Sam Neill) and militaristic kid brother (Michael Dorman). He gets to act on his convictions after meeting a band of fightin' humans. Naturally it includes a love interest (Claudia Karvan) as well as a leader who is living proof that vampires can return to their sunlight-tolerant state (Willem Dafoe). Upon learning this, Edward gropes towards a solution to the problem of both vampire hunger and human depletion. Buckets of blood are spilt before it takes hold, accompanied by pseudo-dramatic sacrifices. Yet if the denouement of Daybreakers deserves a chuckle, at least its antecedents are worth consideration.

Copyright © 2010 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.