By Kristin Carroll

The release of Daybreakers has the Spierig brothers putting an interesting spin on tired vampire stories. With the recent over saturation, many people have simply tuned out bloodsuckers and fangs. Feel free to do so only after giving this one a chance. The film is a fun ride, with exciting action sequences, an interesting plot, and plenty of blood. We are introduced to a future in 2019, where an unknown virus has transformed the majority of the world into vampires. As a result, humans are close to extinction. Almost all remaining are harvested in labs, providing minimal sustenance to the overpopulated vampires.

From the start, the story sucks you in. (Excuse the pun.) Ethan Hawke is introduced as Edward Dalton, a hematologist tasked with developing a blood substitute to replenish food supplies. His research company operates under the leadership of designated bad guy, Charles Bromley, played by Sam Neil. The atmosphere portrays a barely contained panic amongst everyone, as they face their impending doom of starvation. With no substitute-cure in site, vampires begin feeding on themselves, turning into brutal monsters, mirroring corpses with wings and fangs. One cannot help but be drawn into the dark desperation of the vampires.

The film advances with Dalton meeting a renegade group of humans including Willem DaFoe, who discover a vampire cure. As a sympathizer of humans, Dalton rallies for this cure rather than the blood substitute his lab seeks. DaFoe nails his performance, adding comedic value with his warrior-attitude. Both his and Hawke’s appearance in the action sequences are second to none, keeping viewers glued to the screen. The special effects are gripping, memorable and intense, leaving no room for disappointment.

Character development sometimes stops short of its potential, with a missed opportunity to further dissect the relationship between Bromley and his daughter. She refuses to turn vampire, and ultimately, Bromley aids in her demise. We’re nudged to dislike him from the start, though portraying his character as more than one-dimensional would have helped add depth to the storyline. The fact that he isn’t the only evil character, further underscores this lost chance.

Without giving too much away, Daybreakers is an exciting ride, and one I’d recommend seeing in the theater for the action sequences. Although it’s catalogued within the horror genre because it involves vampires, it’s not terribly scary, save for a few jump inducing moments. It should more adequately be billed as a futuristic action-adventure film. But that’s knit picking. Just go see it.