The Ashcan

Daybreakers sucks, but watch it anyway

Posted on 11. Jan, 2010 by Anupa in Film, Pop Culture

Ethan Hawke experiments with layering in Daybreakers

Okay, so vampires are still cool. I’ll bite (ha!) and say I don’t really have a problem with that. I mean, vampire mythology is pretty awesome if you think about it (the blood thing, nightcrawling, living forever, gotta stake ‘em through the heart) so it only makes sense that they are this bleak era’s answer to the once-ubiquitous superhero flick. Newest out in the recent influx of Nosferatu-themed films (including awesome art-y, international movies Let The Right One In and Thirst) is Daybreakers: a glossy action flick about vampires dealing with a perilous dwindling human blood supply. Cutting to the chase: it sucks, but you should still watch it.

When I saw the trailer for Daybreakers I was transfixed. Mostly because it uses one of my favourite covers ever (Placebo doing Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”) but also because it looked like it might follow in the vein of other recent, awesome, apocalyptic blockbusters like Children of Men or I Am Legend. Basically, this movie is positioned from the perspective of the other: very human vampires trying to survive instead of humans fending of swarms of HONGRY vamps.

I’ll save the spoilers because I think you should go and watch this movie even though all of my expectations were pretty much dashed. There is zero smartness to Daybreakers: most of the plot advancements didn’t make sense, the b-plots sucked ass (along with the CGI), the metaphors about corporatism and humanity are pretty  predictable, and there was plenty of corny dialogue from widely regarded greats like Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe (the latter, playing  a stovepipe-wearing hick, actually spoke: “Life’s a bitch… and then you don’t die.”)

Despite the fact that there have been infinitely better, more cerebral vampire flicks released recently, you should still see it because it’s neither boring or lame. The vampires don’t sparkle in the sun or make constipated faces trying to stifle their bloodlust, they aren’t all glamourous with awesome hair, or either mega-villainous or super cutesy. (Although they still drive really cool cars with daylight driving mode and live in nice houses.) Mostly though, it’s normal people who just happen to like blood and no longer have a pulse. Some might argue that it takes the fun out of vampires but I say it invites you to (fleetingly) contemplate standing in those shoes.

Tags: Ethan Hawke, Vampire mythology, Vampires, Willem Dafoe