Daybreakers | |
---|---|
Directed by | The Spierig Brothers |
Written by | The Spierig Brothers |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ben Nott |
Edited by | Matt Villa |
Music by | Christopher Gordon |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Lionsgate (United States) Hoyts Distribution (Australia) [1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
Countries | United States Australia |
Language | English |
Budget | $20 million [1] |
Box office | $51.4 million [1] |
Daybreakers is a 2009 American-Australian sci-fi action horror vampire film written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film takes place in a futuristic world overrun by vampires, and centers around a vampiric corporation which sets out to capture and farm the remaining humans while researching a substitute for human blood. Ethan Hawke plays vampire hematologist Edward Dalton, whose work is interrupted by human survivors led by former vampire "Elvis" (Willem Dafoe), who has a cure that can save the human species.
An international co-production between the United States and Australia, Daybreakers premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2010 and in North America on 8 January 2010. The film grossed over $50 million worldwide and received mixed critical reception.
A plague caused by an infected vampire bat transforms most of the world's population into vampires. As the human population plummets, vampires are faced with blood shortage, with those deprived of blood regressing into monstrous "subsiders." As sunlight is deadly to vampires, they are active during the night, while underground passages and UV-filtered cars are built for daytime travel.
Humans are captured and kept alive for their blood while scientists research synthetic substitute. As the head hematologist for Bromley Marks, the largest supplier of human blood, Edward Dalton and his colleague Christopher Caruso develop a blood substitute.
While driving home, Dalton accidentally runs another vehicle off the road. Discovering the occupants are humans, Dalton hides them from the police. Before they leave, their leader, Audrey, learns of Edward's name and occupation. At home, Edward is surprised by his estranged brother Frankie with a gift of a bottle of pure human blood. The gift reignites a long-standing argument – Edward refuses to drink human blood, while Frankie enjoys it. A subsider invades the house, forcing the brothers to kill it.
The next morning, Audrey visits Edward and sets up a meeting with Lionel "Elvis" Cormac, a human who was cured of vampirism. Before Cormac can explain his reversion, a military team arrives with Frankie, who follows Edward and intends to capture Cormac and Audrey. Audrey knocks Frankie unconscious, and the three escape. Cormac reveals that he was cured of vampirism when a car crash ejected him from his sun-proof vehicle. Elvis burst into flames but fell into a river before the sunlight killed him. He theorizes that the brief exposure to sunlight turned him human. Edward agrees to help Cormac recreate the cure and prevent humans from being wiped out.
Edward meets Senator Wes Turner, a human sympthizer secretly helping to develop a cure. Vampire soldiers capture an approaching human convoy and track the vineyard's location, forcing Turner and the humans to flee. Audrey, Cormac, and Edward stay behind. After many painful trials, they successfully cure Edward of vampirism. They later find Turner and all the humans dead.
Alison Bromley, one of the captured humans, is revealed to be the daughter of Charles Bromley (CEO of Bromley Marks). As she refuses to become a vampire, Charles has Frankie forcibly turn her. However, she refuses to drink human blood and devolves into a subsider, and is executed by being dragged into sunlight. Upset by her death, Frankie seeks out his brother. The military imposes martial law to curb the subsider population.
Edward, Cormac, and Audrey break into Christopher's home and ask him to help spread the cure. Having finally discovered a viable blood substitute, Christopher rejects the cure and calls in soldiers, who capture Audrey while Cormac and Edward escape. They are found by Frankie, who agrees to help, but instinctively bites and feeds on Cormac. As it turns out, a cured human is immune to vampire bites, while cured vampire blood is a cure in itself.
Trying to save Audrey, Edward surrenders himself to Charles. Edward taunts Charles into biting him, turning Charles human. Edward leaves Charles to be killed at the hands of blood-starved vampire troops. Frankie arrives and sacrifices himself to the soldiers, allowing Edward and Audrey to escape. In the ensuing feeding frenzy, only a few surviving soldiers are cured. To conceal the cure, Christopher kills the soldiers and is about to shoot Edward and Audrey when Cormac kills him. The three survivors drive off into the sunrise with the cure that will change the general population back to restore humanity.
In November 2004, Lionsgate acquired the script to Daybreakers, written by Peter and Michael Spierig. The brothers, who directed Undead (2003), were attached to direct Daybreakers. [2] In September 2006, the brothers received financing from Film Finance Corporation Australia, with production set to take place in Queensland. [3] In May 2007, actor Ethan Hawke was cast in the lead role. [4] Later in the month, actor Sam Neill joined the cast as the main antagonist. Daybreakers began filming on the Gold Coast at Warner Bros. Movie World studios and in Brisbane on 16 July 2007. [5] The production budget was $US21 million, with the State Government contributing $US1 million to the filmmakers. [6] Principal photography was completed on schedule in September 2007, with reshoots following to extend key sequences. [7]
Weta Workshop created the creature effects for Daybreakers. [4] The Spierig brothers wanted the vampires in the film to have a classical aesthetic to them while feeling like a more contemporary interpretation. After experimenting with complex makeup designs, they decided that a more minimalistic approach to makeup had a more powerful effect. [8]
Hawke was initially hesitant to join the production as he was "not a big fan" of genre films. He ultimately accepted the role as Edward after deciding the story felt "different" from that of a typical B movie. [8] Hawke described the film as an allegory of man's pacing with natural resources, "We're eating our own resources so people are trying to come up with blood substitutes, trying to get us off of foreign humans." [9] The actor also said that despite the serious allegory, the film was "low art" and "completely unpretentious and silly". [9]
Daybreakers premiered on 11 September 2009 at the 34th Annual Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on 6 January 2010 in the UK and Ireland, 8 January 2010 in North America, and 4 February 2010 in Australia.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 68% based on reviews from 155 critics, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Though it arrives during an unfortunate glut of vampire movies, Daybreakers offers enough dark sci-fi thrills — and enough of a unique twist on the genre — to satisfy filmgoers." [10] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [11] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale. [12]
Variety gave the film a mixed review stating the film had a "cold, steely blue, black and gray 'Matrix'-y look" going on to say Daybreakers "emerges as a competent but routine chase thriller that lacks attention-getting dialogue, unique characters or memorable setpieces that might make it a genre keeper rather than a polished time-filler." [13] Rolling Stone gave the film two and a half out of four stars and called the film a B movie and a "nifty genre piece". [14]
Roger Ebert also gave the film two and a half stars stating the "intriguing premise ... ends as so many movies do these days, with fierce fights and bloodshed." [15] Richard Roeper gave the film a B+ and called it "a bloody good time." [16]
As of October 2010, the global box gross was US$51,416,464, including $30,101,577 in the US. [1] In its opening weekend in the United States, Daybreakers opened at No. 4 behind Avatar , Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel with $15,146,692 in 2,523 theaters, averaging $6,003 per theater. [17]
Daybreakers was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on 11 May 2010 and in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2010. [18] The UK DVD copy was rated as an 18 instead of the original 15 rating that was used for cinema release. A 3D Blu-ray version of the film was released in November 2011.[ citation needed ] The film was re-released in the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format on September 10, 2019.
Blade is a 1998 American superhero horror film directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, it is the first installment of the Blade franchise. The film stars Wesley Snipes as the titular character with Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson and N'Bushe Wright in supporting roles. Blade is a Dhampir, a human with vampire strengths but not their weaknesses, who fights against vampires.
Hannibal King is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared as a supporting character in the title The Tomb of Dracula, issue #25.
In Balkan folklore, a dhampir is a mythical creature that is the result of a union between a vampire and a human. This union was usually between male vampires and female humans, with stories of female vampires mating with male humans being rare.
Morbius the Living Vampire is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and originally designed by penciler Gil Kane, he debuted as a tragic, sympathetic adversary of the superhero Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #101. For years, Morbius frequently clashed with Spider-Man and other superheroes while occasionally regaining his reason and helping those he regarded as allies. The 1992 Marvel Comics "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover event then revived and revised several horror-themed Marvel characters to present them as lead protagonists in new titles. The event launched the new series Morbius the Living Vampire, which ran from 1992 to 1995 and now presented the title character as a lethal anti-hero and vigilante. After the cancellation of this series, various stories shifted back and forth between portraying Morbius as a conflicted and brutal anti-hero or a tragic character subject to episodes of madness and murder.
The Batman vs. Dracula is a 2005 American direct-to-video animated superhero-horror film based on The Batman television series. The film is a crossover inspired by the 1897 horror novel Dracula. The film was released to DVD on October 18, 2005, and made its television debut on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on October 22. In the film, the Batman races to save Gotham City from his most challenging foe yet: the legendary vampire Count Dracula, who hatches a plot together to enslave the city and create a race of vampires along with his two new henchmen, the Penguin and the Joker. It was released on DVD as a tie-in with the live action Batman Begins.
House of Dracula is a 1945 American horror film released and distributed by Universal Pictures. Directed by Erle C. Kenton, the film features several Universal Horror properties meeting as they had done in the 1944 film House of Frankenstein. The film is set at the castle home of Dr. Franz Edelmann, who is visited first by Count Dracula and later by Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, who are trying to cure their vampirism and lycanthropy, respectively. Talbot is eventually cured, which leads him to discover the body of Frankenstein's monster in a cave below the base of the castle. Edelemann takes the monster's body back to his laboratory but finds Count Dracula has awakened and by attacking his assistants, he captures Edelmann and forces a reverse blood transfusion, which gives Edelmann a split personality and makes him a killer.
"War Zone" is the 20th episode of the first season of the American television series Angel. Written by Gary Campbell and directed by David Straiton, it was originally broadcast on May 9, 2000 on the WB network. In War Zone, Angel helps software millionaire David Nabbit track down a blackmailer, ending up in the middle of a gang war between a group of street kids - led by amateur vampire hunter Charles Gunn - and a vampire gang who have settled in his South-Central neighborhood. Angel offers to assist Gunn in tracking down the vampires who abducted and killed Gunn's sister.
Abraham Whistler is a fictional character appearing in the Blade film and television series. Developing the 1998 film Blade, screenwriter David S. Goyer created the character, and named him after Abraham van Helsing, the nemesis of Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). Whistler is a vampire hunter and Blade's mentor. Whistler is an original character created by Goyer, although some comparisons have been made to Jamal Afari who appeared in the comics as Blade's mentor. Kris Kristofferson was cast in the role and later reprised his role in Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004). Ahead of Kristofferson's casting and the film's release, Whistler first appeared onscreen in Spider-Man: The Animated Series in 1995, adapted from Goyer's then-unfilmed screenplay, where he was originally voiced by Malcolm McDowell and later by Oliver Muirhead. In Blade: The Series (2006) a young Whistler was played by Adrian Glynn McMorran.
Thirsty is a 1997 horror novel written by M. T. Anderson. It is set in modern Clayton, Massachusetts. The main character, Christopher, just wants a normal life; to date his crush Rebecca Schwartz, stay up late, and other teenager things. Unfortunately, Chris has much more to worry about than puberty — he also has to deal with his vampirism.
Subspecies is an American direct-to-video horror film series produced by Full Moon Studios and Castel Film Studios. The series ran from 1991 to 2023, and followed the exploits of the undead Radu Vladislas, portrayed by Anders Hove, and his efforts to turn Michelle Morgan into his fledgling. A spin-off film, Vampire Journals, was released in 1997, which featured characters that would go on to appear in the fourth installment. Ted Nicolaou wrote and directed all six films, including the spin-off.
Dracula II: Ascension is a 2003 direct-to-video American-Romanian vampire film, directed by Patrick Lussier. It stars Jason Scott Lee, Stephen Billington and Diane Neal. Filmed entirely in Romania by Castel Film Studios, the film is the sequel to Dracula 2000. It was released direct-to-video on June 7, 2003.
99 Coffins is a 2007 vampire novel written by David Wellington. It is a sequel to 2006's Thirteen Bullets.
Stefan Salvatore is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists from L. J. Smith's novel series The Vampire Diaries. He is portrayed by Paul Wesley in the television series CW's The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. Stefan grew up in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. He grew up next to his brother, Damon Salvatore, his father, Giuseppe Salvatore and at the start of his life grew up with his mother, Lillian Salvatore before supposedly died of consumption, later revealing that she faked her own death and lived as a vampire in secret. As Stefan grew up, he was known as the good child in the family, unlike his brother, Damon Salvatore, who had a knack for trouble. As Stefan and Damon grew up, both boys grew to not like their father because of his abusive ways. Damon Salvatore joined the army, and Stefan was left to live with his father for a couple of months. Once Damon came back, the two were turned into vampires in 1864, in the town of Mystic Falls at the age of 17, by Katerina Petrova, who both brothers loved immensely.
Damon Salvatore is a fictional character In L. J. Smith's novel series The Vampire Diaries. He is portrayed by Ian Somerhalder in the television series. Damon is one of the two main protagonists along with Stefan Salvatore, especially in the story's main setting, Mystic Falls.
"Curse of the Mutants" is a comics storyline that ran in books published by the American company Marvel Comics from July 2010 to May 2011. The arc centers on a human bomb exploding in San Francisco's Union Square, covering dozens in vampire-converting blood. It then becomes the mission of the X-Men to track down Dracula's son Xarus, now "Lord of the Vampires", even if that means enlisting vampire-hunter Blade.
The Little Vampire is the title of a series of children's fantasy books created in 1979 by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. The overall plot deals with the friendship between a human boy called Anton and Rüdiger, a vampire boy. The basic idea dates back to 1976, when Sommer-Bodenburg wrote short stories about the adventures of the little vampire and a human boy, finally collecting them and forming the series' plot from them.
Predestination is a 2014 Australian science fiction action-thriller film written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, and Noah Taylor, and is based on the 1959 short story " '—All You Zombies—'" by Robert A. Heinlein.
Afflicted is a 2013 Canadian found footage horror film written and directed by Derek Lee and Clif Prowse. Their feature film directorial debut, it had its world premiere on September 9, 2013 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won a special jury citation for Best Canadian First Feature Film. Lee and Prowse star as two friends whose goal to film themselves traveling the world is cut short when one of them contracts a mysterious disease.
Blue Veins is a 2016 Hong Kong supernatural television drama produced by Joe Chan Wai-Kun for TVB, starring Kevin Cheng, Kay Tse and Grace Chan. Filming took place from April to July 2015 on location in Hong Kong and the Netherlands. It premiered on Hong Kong's TVB Jade and Malaysia's Astro On Demand on April 11, 2016, airing Monday through Sunday during its 9:30-10:30 pm timeslot.