Daybreakers

"Please not another Vampire movie"! I thought as I read the cinema guide for last week. As it is my movie rule to see a film a week, whether there is something that I really want to see or not, off I trotted. As it turned out, it wasn't just another Vampire movie. Directed by the Spierig brothers and stars the increasingly attractive Ethan Hawke as the reluctant Haematologist medic Edward (yes, another Vampire named Edward!) who was turned to the darkness by his gung-ho soldier boy brother. Sam Neill plays the divinely unctious Charles Bromley, corporate head of a blood bank, Willem Dafoe as 'Elvis' a former Vampire (woefully underused) and Australian actors Claudia Karvan and Vince Colosimo. This is an imaginative story set in 2019 and is a tale of ethics, love and frights. When the good Dr who is trying desperately to find an alternative to the rapidly depleting blood supply stumbles across some extremely valuable (and trusting) humans, they offer a much more humane solution to the dilemma the world finds itself in. The Dr feels he's hit the jackpot, but do the large corporations really want an alternative, or is money and status the real goal? There are some really gory bits, as you would expect and hope, and some lovely heart stopping moments in this film. There is a subdivision of Vampires, that are even more terrible called the subsiders, a mutant form of vampire that are forced to suck other vampire's blood or, even more revoItingly, their own. These subsiders provide most of the fun and possible heart attacks. The movie is about 1 hour 40 mins, so not too long. The script is quite well thought out and there are some really funny moments. The relationship between Charles Bromley and his daughter ( a beautiful Australian actress named Isabel Lucas, the jury is still out on whether she can do much more than look great) is a bit shallow, and so almost seems unnecessary. I would have much preferred a bit more dark humour considering the originality of the story, and at times it seemed a little too serious and self-important. All in all, an enjoyable romp with good solid acting and more than a little adventure. DAYBREAKERS: Worth venturing out in the night for. 6/10