Clever, suspenseful and sharp

Daybreakes, Exeter Vue

98 minutes, Cert 15

By Graham Taylor

The Vampire genre has been deflated ino a teenage romance thanks to the hideous Twilight franchise and its copycats (see Cirque Du Freak ), so it’s always refreshing to see a real vampire film, all guts and gore included. Daybreakers is exactly the film needed to reviatlise this nearly stale genre.

Clever, suspenseful and genuinely frightening in places, Daybreakers is the definitive (and best) horror film of the last year. While its pacing is an occasional problem, and being not much of a horror fan, Daybreakers is not a perfect film, but its certainly an entertaining one.

Ethan Hawke (having a career renassiance) plays chief hematologist Edward Dalton, a vampire desperate to find a cure to bring back the human race, as the blood is about to run out forever; the remaining humans, who have been farmed for blood, have all but gone, leaving the Vampire’s vulnerable to becoming rabid monsters.

Edward joins up with the few surviving humans, led by the mysterious Elvis (Willem Dafoe on top form), to find a cure, but all the Vampires want is a blood subsitite, and Edward is a threat to their plans, so he has to be ousted…

Daybreakers ‘ interesting premise holds your attention throughout, which is certainly aided by the excellent performances from its pedigree cast. Hawke and Dafoe shine as always, whilst Claudia Karvan and Isabel Lucas shine in supporting roles as two strong female characters (finally) ready to fight the vampire onslaught.

Peter and Michael Spierig must take credit for their exceptional direction here though. On a $20M budget, they’ve created a world filled with massive skyscrapers, high tech homes, alll blended in to their rich dark pallet that illustrates this world so perfectly. Their flashy, hyperkinetic directional skills work well with the content, and never feel nauseating (take note Tony Scott.)

The writing is also important in the film’s success, as it creates the immense suspense that is truly sustained throughout the film. The first hour is filled with loud jump scares, whilst the last hour focuses on the psychological aspects of what people are truly capable of.

One big problem is the occasionally flat pacing. The film is definitely enthralling, but the middle section sags slightly when the plot meanders around one event a little too much. This is a mild complaint, but considering how tight the rest of the film is, this should have been sorted out straight away.

Cliches are also present too. For example, Edward’s brother Michael (played well by Michael Dorman) is looking for redemption, as we see in so many horror films. You can tell things won’t go well from there.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of the horror genre (often too disgusting or too cliched.) But for horror fans (the target audience) Daybreakers is absolutely perfect as no other horror films of late (with the exception of Orphan and Drag me to Hell ) have been so interesting.

*Thank you to Exeter Vue Cinema for their continued support with my reviews.*