Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Since my last review was on a timid film about a controversial subject, I thought that this week I would throw caution to the wind and review a film with a bit more bite.
Introducing Daybreakers, a vampire movie with a futuristic twist and more blood and gore than you can shake a stick at!
The film is set in the not too distant future and mankind has been knocked back a notch on the food chain and vampires have claimed their place at the top. Humans have fallen victim to a type of disease that has turned the majority of the population into bloodthirsty fiends.
The opening sequence is really impressive and shows the consequences of the vampire takeover. Ironically the world is almost the same as when humans were in control, vampire businessmen fight rush hour as they travel to work and vampire politicians still bicker and spout lame rhetoric to get votes.
However, as blood supplies are running dry, the audience is introduced to what happens when these gothic legends are left ... thirsty. When vampires are unable to feed they degenerate into horrid looking bat-like creatures.
They attack anything that moves, cause a real bother for anyone in their way and are almost as foul tempered as me before I've had my morning tea!
Humans are harvested in what can best be described as 'farms' while top scientists try to find a blood substitute to help solve the famine.
One particular vampire scientist, Edward Dalton, is sympathetic to the humans' plight and even refuses to feed on them (how considerate!).
A group of humans led by Elvis, (sadly not Presley) a former vampire who managed to recapture his humanity, may have found the cure to the vampire disease.
However, not all the bloodsuckers want to give up their immortality and convincing them to take the cure proves to be difficult. After enlisting the help of Edward, Elvis and his band of loyal followers take the fight for humanity to the next level.
The techno-gothic world of Daybreakers merges classic vampire mythology with advanced technology and corporate culture in a way not too dissimilar to the Blade films.
This created a somewhat similar tone which surprisingly managed to be rather entertaining, if not too original.
The main problem I have with this movie is that the special effects are overused and relied upon to make up for slightly clichŽ and over-the-top dialogue.
With that said, the one thing this movie really does have going for it is that it doesn't pander to the Twilight loving crowd. There is nothing romantic about the relationships, no deep undertones, it's pretty much blood and gore ... like vampire movies are supposed to be.
