If you asked me if I preferred vampires or werewolves, I would say werewolves, 100%. However, here’s an inconvenient truth: There are arguably a lot better vampire movies than there are werewolf movies, such as Interview With the Vampire.
Before you say, “But, An American Werewolf in London!” or “The Wolf Man!” I just have to counter and say that, while yes, there are a few good werewolf movies and TV shows, vampires just have so many better appearances, like The Lost Boys, From Dusk till Dawn, and the recent Nosferatu. Hell, there are so many great vampire movies that some even seem to get forgotten, such as the 2009 banger, Daybreakers, starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe.
So, while I do like movies like The Howling, Dog Soldiers, and Ginger Snaps, here’s why a film like Daybreakers is in a class of its own.
It’s Like I Am Legend, But With A Fascinating Twist
You know, I once wrote an article comparing all three movies based on the Richard Matheson novel, I Am Legend–those being 1964’s The Last Man on Earth, 1971’s The Omega Man, and 2007’s I Am Legend–and guess what! I found that the one that shares the book’s title actually felt the least like the source material. And, that’s mostly because the creatures in I Am Legend really felt the least like vampires (even though the weird cult family in The Omega Man is a close second).
That said, I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of the novel. In it, there’s a single man named Robert Neville who is basically surviving a vampire apocalypse. In a sense, he’s what you might call a “vampire survivor” (Hence the title, since he’s become legendary to vampires as the last human on earth). Well, Daybreakers takes that idea and flips it. Instead of us following a human hero, we’re actually (mostly) following the vampires. In this world, vampires are in charge, and they’re hunting down humans to harvest their blood to sustain their society.
That said, with the vast majority being vampires, and humans being the minority, the majority are running out of a food source, since they’ve almost tapped out humankind. When this happens, vampires start to devolve into more batlike creatures called “subsiders.”
It’s a really cool concept, and it almost feels like a “what if” story to I Am Legend. I love it.
The Dystopian Setting Is Unlike Any Other Vampire Movie
I love post-apocalyptic and dystopian movies. I mean, even though none of us would want to live in that kind of world, who doesn’t love these kinds of settings? Well, Daybreakers presents an interesting one, since it’s not inviting to either the humans or the ruling class vampires, as the latter are constantly worrying about their food supply running out.
It’s a world where human beings are swept off the streets and plugged into Matrix-like pods in order to be siphoned for their precious blood. Meanwhile, corporate execs pretend to be searching for a synthetic substitute for human blood, while really plotting behind the scenes to keep all of the actual blood for themselves and their rich friends. OG Jurassic Park veteran, Sam Neill, plays said corporate exec, Charles Bromley, and he has nothing but nefarious intentions.
You see, there are some who believe that vampires can actually turn back into humans, and Bromley wants no part of that. Why would he when he lives a nightlife in charge of billions of dollars, and in the daytime, he can drive around in a fancy UV-filtered car? Because that’s the thing about this world. Vampires can be “daybreakers” with their vehicles and conduct business throughout the day, which is another cool twist.
Honestly, for a world infested with vampires, it kind of feels like our world, what with the parallels between blood farming and Big Pharma charging an arm and a leg for lifesaving medication. And that’s pretty scary in itself.
Ethan Hawke Plays An Interesting Vampire Hematologist
Now, it’s interesting that the title of this article features Ethan Hawke’s name, and I haven’t even talked about him yet. But that’s just how interesting the world of this film is as a whole. Hawke does play an important role, though, as our protagonist, a vampire hematologist who actually wants what’s best for his world.
Ethan Hawke, who recently starred in another horror movie, that being Black Phone 2, has his heart in the right place. He plays a doctor named Edward Dalton, who is trying his best to find a blood substitute to save the world as they know it. They test their trials on brave vampiric soldiers, but they haven’t really seen much success, which is stressful, since the clock is ticking on their food supply.
That said, much like Hawke’s role in the first The Purge movie, his sympathetic heart is what gets him into trouble, as Dalton accidentally runs a car containing humans off the road. Well, instead of reporting them to the police like a good vampire would, he instead decides to hide them, which ends up getting him embroiled in their world, where he learns that it’s actually possible to turn human again as a vampire.
It’s an interesting, albeit slightly boring, role since he has to be all good, all the time. That said, the more interesting role goes to another actor…
Willem Dafoe Is Also Excellent, But When Is He Not?
You know, Willem Dafoe just can’t seem to avoid vampires. He played one in the excellent Shadow of the Vampire, which is about Max Schreck from the original Nosferatu, and, more recently, he played a vampire hunter in the remake of Nosferatu.
Well, in Daybreakers, he plays another vampire hunter…sort of. You see, in this film, Dafoe actually was a vampire who was transformed back into a human, and now he leads the charge against vampires, as he wants to “cure” them and turn them back into humans. Ethan Hawke’s character, who won’t even drink human blood, is, of course, on board, and he bands with Dafoe (whose name is Lionel “Elvis” Cormac in this) in order to bring the world back from the brink.
Dafoe, as always, is excellent in this film. The movie is kind of dour (and dark. Let’s not forget dark), but Dafoe provides some levity to the events taking place on the screen. He’s pretty much the comic relief, and by all measures, he’s the more interesting character out of himself and Ethan Hawke, but that’s only because he’s allowed to be. In other words, he doesn’t have to be the straight man. He can be the fun one.
And, fun he is! In fact, a lot of the movie (though some of it drags) is fun, which leads me to my last point.
In The End, Daybreakers Is A Novel Concept That Delivers
Daybreakers didn’t have to be as good as it is. The concept alone could have carried it, but with Willem Dafoe’s enjoyable vampire survivor and Ethan Hawke’s interesting (but safe) vampire hematologist, you have a film that delivers in every aspect that it needs to.
However, add in Sam Neill chewing scenery as a corrupt corporate exec in the “drug” industry, and you have a film that has a message amidst its sci-fi horror action. Daybreakers is a vampire film that I often feel gets overlooked (Sort of like 30 Days of Night, which I should also write about), and it shouldn’t, since it’s awesome.
It’s a novel idea, and it delivers. What more could you possibly want?