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January 13, 2010

'Daybreakers' finds new vampire gimmick

By STEVE OUELLETTE, Movie Review

Vampires have been — if you'll pardon the expression — done to death lately, so unless a new blood-sucking movie has a gimmick or a sappy teen romance, well, what's the point?

"Daybreakers" goes the gimmick route, and it's actually a pretty good one.

It's 2019, 10 years after a mysterious virus has transformed a large percentage of the population into vampires. These vampires live in our world — dressing in suits, going to work every night, watching TV, driving cars (with special darkening features to allow daytime driving). But with the human population dwindling, the supply of blood is almost gone.

Without blood, the vampires devolve into even nastier creatures, then perish.

A sulky Ethan Hawke is reluctant vampire Edward Dalton, a scientist trying to create a synthetic blood substitute that would save the day and possibly preserve the remaining human lives, too.

Edward becomes linked with a small group of human survivors and discovers that there might be a cure that can actually turn vampires back into humans. If only he has time "¦

As Edward, Hawke mostly seems weary — I think he was aiming for sorrowful — but he has a little bit of big-name help. Willem Dafoe, as former vampire Elvis Cormac, spouts down-home nonsense and fires a mean crossbow; sort of a poor man's Woody Harrelson (in "Zombieland"). Sam Neill makes for a pretty slick villain, a ruthless vampire businessman who seems to control everything.

Claudia Karvan is forgettable as Audrey, the token butt-kicking female and love interest — though, I repeat, this is not another vampire romance. There are far more exploding heads than there are broken hearts in "Daybreakers."

There are a number of logical flaws in the movie — I personally want to know why the humans try to skulk around in the dark of the night when the vampires prefer to sleep during the day and burst into flame when exposed to sunlight. That doesn't ruin the fun, but "Daybreakers" wastes some opportunities, too.

The film's setup is good, but much of what follows is clumsy, and the effects are pretty low budget. A couple of good resolutions present themselves, but the film settles for a less optimal conclusion.

"Daybreakers" is passable entertainment, but it could have been better.

Rental Recommendation: "30 Days of Night" was another high-concept — relatively speaking — and effective vampire flick. Grade: B-.

E-mail Steve Ouellette at: ouellette1918@gmail.com

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