America, 2019: A global pandemic has transformed 95 per cent of Earth's population into vampires; the world is full of immortals... but human blood is running out. In a bid to stop the grisly carnage that will engulf the planet should vampire starvation set in, shady corporate bigwig Charles Bromley (Neill) and his lead scientist Edward Dalton (Hawke) are searching for a synthetic alternative to real blood. The problem is, Bromley is driven by greed and Dalton is troubled by the human, and inhuman, cost of the world's thirst for blood. As tests continue to fail and Dalton's troubled conscience becomes inescapable, he encounters Audrey (Karvan) and Elvis (Dafoe) - human resistance fighters who have an alternative plan; cure vampirism and restore the human race using sunlight. It works, but some vampires don't want to be turned and Bromley, who now has a blood substitute, is not going to give up his empire without a fight.
A vampire with a conscience called Edward sound familiar? If the success of teen mega-saga Twilight has been the springboard for a rash of recent vampire releases, that's where the connection with Daybreakers ends. Dark, visceral and unconcerned with tortured teen angst, this inventive sci-fi/horror from German twins Michael and Peter Spierig (Undead) presents a hellish 'what if ' future where humans are farmed for their O negative and vampires order full-fat blood with their coffee.
Enjoyable as much for its wanton gore as its strong cast, the plot of Daybreakers is never in danger of congealing, rushing as it does towards a heady climax that sees vampires and humans face-off in flesh-tearing final sequence. A fair teen-pleaser from a promising directorial duo.
Daybreakers is a Film programme that first aired in 2009 and has been classified a 18 certificate.
