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The thirst, however, has overwhelmed the supply. In subway stations, a fanged Uncle Sam demands you to hunt down and turn in rogue humans. But there are vampires with more reasonable solutions. One of them is Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a scientist who abstains from humans and drinks the blood of lesser animals instead. His corporate master Bromley (Sam Neill) demands a substitute but the ones Dalton has concocted thus far have resulted in some rather nasty side effects. But the far more terrifying option for them is starvation, which causes vampires to devolve into decrepit, winged scavengers. When Dalton and his younger brother (Michael Dorman) are confronted by one before daylight, it desperately sucks up a few drops amongst shards of broken glass.
That very same night, Dalton heroically saves a band of humans from being discovered. His peaceful nature with the humans leads him to a meeting with Elvis, the head of the resistance and a converted vamp. Naturally, Elvis is played by Willem Dafoe; sitting behind the wheel of a Trans Am, his face scarred from sunlight, the seasoned pro's presence gives the film a shot of adrenaline. On the run from vamp soldiers -- car chases included -- Elvis shares his cure with Dalton, but it remains to be seen if the corporate masters are as interested in a cure as they are with new capital.
This allegory for consumption is one of those rare instances of an idea that seems so obvious and somehow has yet to be capitalized on. And for more than half of Daybreakers, the Spierig brothers give it a solid B-movie groove that casts our vampire future as one not all that different from our current one. Cars and households are fully automated; our wants have been retrofitted and our needs left to squander. The sleekness-as-decay mode may be unoriginal, but it works for most of the Spierigs' film.
It is odd, however, that a film which preaches alternative solutions and fresh thinking ends up leaning so heavily on rote clichés to drive in its final stake. The mood is refreshingly dystopic, but Daybreakers loses focus and ultimately comes to a clattering, limp conclusion that shortchanges both the film's eco-friendly themes and the emotional weight of the characters. The hope that seemed so bleak throughout the film is relieved by an ending that presupposes another chance for Dalton and Elvis to save us bloodsuckers from ourselves.
