PLOT: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

“We needed a reminder of what vampires really are.”

The above quote was not from one of the films stars, writers or directors. It was from my wife after we saw Daybreakers. My wife is an avid fan of Twilight, so in my opinion, that speaks volumes about this movie.

We open on a little girl, roughly 11 or 12, writing a letter in her bedroom. Surrounded by pictures of her friends and loved ones all over her bedroom walls and mirror, she writes about there being “no cure” and how sad she is that she will “never grow up”. She then calmly walks outside to watch the sunrise and is burnt to a crisp. A morbid opening, true, but a great way to kick this baby off. A fantastic “What If?” scenario, how would our world adapt if we all became vampires? What happens when the blood runs out? Would the remaining humans spark a revolution?

Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire with a conscience. He is a blood doctor who is looking to create a suitable blood substitute working for Charles Bromley (Sam Neill). Bromley’s compnay farms humans, making a lot of (quite literally) blood money. Due to the shortage, blood deprived vamps are mutating into Subsiders (think zombies that just want blood). Edward begins a new journey once he meets Audrey (Claudia Karvan) and Elvis (Willem Dafoe). Elvis is a human who claims he was once a vampire and has been cured. As Edward starts to work with the humans, his brother Frankie (Michael Dorman), a soldier in the US Army, begins to hunt them down.

We finally have a scary vampire film again. Using very little music was a smart move here since there is a lot of plot to take in. The score, when it was used, was a fantastic companion piece going hand in hand with each scene as opposed to just background noise. The acting was fantastic as well. Sam Neill was my personal favorite because I’ve always felt he played a great villian. He reminded me of his take on Damine Thorne in The Final Conflict.

That said, this movie did have some flaws. First and foremost, a vegetarian vampire named Edaward? Where have we heard that before? Also some of the minor characters could have been explored a little more.

Highly recommended as a cure for the common glittery love story vampires. A movie I greatly feel has potential to become a franchise, considering the lack of original ideas currently plauging Hollywood.