IT is the year 2019 in Daybreakers, and an unknown epidemic has turned most of the human race into vampires.
Soon, human blood is in short supply and a giant corporation, which farms humans for blood, has a paramilitary force out scouring the land for humans.
They also have researchers trying to discover a synthetic substitute.
With strong demand and the rising price of blood, the poor are left to die horribly in back alleys, with humans having become an endangered species and forced into hiding.
As vampire commuters at roadside blood stalls complain about the diluted blood they are getting, will the government be forced to stop supplying schoolchildren their daily free cup of blood?
This Australian-American co-production is much more than your normal vampire movie made for teenagers.
While the basic plot is (hopefully) unbelievable, as a metaphor for a future world dogged by shortages of life’s essentials, it has a lot of to say.
Michael and Peter Spierig (Undead) have moved up in the class of advanced filmmaking, and while there’s still more to learn, this will not go unnoticed by their peers.
While the narrative stumbles at times, George Liddle’s production vividly enhances an atmosphere of doom.
Christopher Gordon’s aggressive action musical score, meanwhile, makes the movie
a crossover science-fiction, red-blooded horror, action/thriller.
Daybreakers(MA15+)
Directed by: Michael and Peter Spierig
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan
Rating: Three stars (98 mins)