Daybreakers

It's 2019, and a bat-borne plague has turned 95% of humanity into vampires. Cities run on a night schedule, UV-proof cars glide through darkened streets, and the remaining humans are hunted and farmed for their blood. But the supply is running out, and society is starting to crack. This is the world of Daybreakers, a 2010 sci-fi horror from Australian twin directors Michael and Peter Spierig.

The film centers on Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a vampire hematologist who refuses to drink human blood, subsisting on animal blood instead. He works for Bromley Marks, a pharmaceutical giant run by the ruthless Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), who sees the blood shortage as a business problem to be solved. When Edward meets a band of human survivors, including the cured ex-vampire Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac (Willem Dafoe), he discovers a possible cure and must choose sides. Shot in Queensland, Australia, on a $20 million budget, the film grossed over $51 million worldwide and found a cult following for its sharp social commentary and stylish gore. [edit]

In 2019, a plague has turned most of the world's population into vampires, and society has been rebuilt around their nocturnal needs. Cities glow under artificial light, buildings are connected by sun-proof tunnels, and cars have tinted windows that block UV rays. The remaining humans are hunted and captured, then hooked up to machines in massive blood farms that drain them for commercial distribution. But the human population has dwindled to 5%, and blood supplies are critically low.

Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire hematologist for Bromley Marks, a corporation that dominates the blood trade. Unlike most vampires, Edward refuses to drink human blood, subsisting on animal blood instead, and he secretly hopes to find a way to reverse vampirism. His boss, Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), was dying of cancer when he was turned, and now sees the blood shortage purely as a business challenge. Bromley tasks Edward with developing a synthetic blood substitute to keep the vampire population fed and the profits flowing.

As the crisis deepens, vampires who go too long without feeding degenerate into feral, bat-like creatures called 'subsiders', mindless, cannibalistic monsters that attack anything in their path. Panic spreads, rationing begins, and violence erupts in the streets. Edward's work takes a dramatic turn when he encounters a small band of human survivors led by Audrey Bennett (Claudia Karvan), a resourceful former waitress, and Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac (Willem Dafoe), a gruff, chain-smoking former vampire who was cured through a bizarre accident. Elvis's blood contains antibodies that reverse the vampiric condition, and he and Audrey believe this discovery could save humanity. They recruit Edward to help them develop and refine the cure.

As Edward works with the humans, he finds himself hunted by both sides. Bromley's security forces, led by the brutal Christopher Caruso (Vince Colosimo), are desperate to capture Edward and suppress the cure, while vampires who learn of the discovery see it as a threat to their immortality. The film becomes a race against time, with Edward and his allies working to synthesize the cure on a massive scale before the blood supply runs out completely and civilization collapses into chaos. Along the way, the film explores themes of corporate greed, addiction, and the ethics of survival, painting the vampire society as a dark mirror of our own consumer culture.[edit]