Daybreakers (2009)

Directors: Michael & Peter Spierig

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In 2019, the most precious natural resource... is us.

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.

My rating: 7/10

Will I see it again? I'm not beyond the idea of it.

Has Ethan Hawke ever had a role that wasn't so damned serious? The only thing I can think of is TAPE (2001) (great little flick, btw). At least he wasn't some brooding, troubled guy who never smiled. I bring it up because while I dig the guy's performances, he does that one thing so much that it wears thin after a while.

Anyway, I really dug this flick. I like the ideas and concepts that are thrown out. I would have liked to have seen more of the underground vampire world but that would have required more movie. The performances are quite good with Dafoe's being the standout. He's a riot.

There's a couple of things that I would have changed. Firstly, there's just not enough of Sam Neil. He's great but he's also, with two small exceptions, limited to just one room - his office. It's only at the conclusion that he leaves and ends up in the garage. Awfully exciting locations, huh? It's like they had Neil for all of two days and didn't have any options. The other thing that bugged me was how quickly Hawke was able to come up with a cure for vampirism. BAM! OK, now lets end this fucker.

There you go. I saw this in the theater opening weekend and I don't know if there's a longer cut on DVD. If there is, I'd be interested in seeing it again to see if anything else was fleshed out (snicker). I'd like to think so but then if there is, it should've been included in the theatrical cut. It's one of those rare films these days where I wish it were longer. I wanted to spend more time in this world exploring a lot of the really nifty ideas they presented, the day to day stuff. I needed more out of this relationship than it was willing to give me. Sigh, I've been jilted yet again. Will this love affair with movies never end? I hope not.