On the Bookshelf

Surprise, surprise. I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I have been busy car hunting, working, and, of course, reading. However, I did manage to find some time to go to the movies and check out the latest vampire flick, Daybreakers.

In the year 2019 the vast majority of the worlds population have become vampires. At first glance, immortality has done little to change the world. An aversion to daylight hasn't stopped people from driving their cars, going to work. There are still the rich and the homeless. But the population is nearly starving. Rations are tight and there is only enough human blood supply left to last until the end of the month.

Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire and a hematologist attempting to create an artificial blood supply. He hopes that his work might alleviate the suffering of the dwindling human population. But a run-in with some renegade humans presents him with a new solution that he had not considered possible - a cure for vampirism.

For the most part, I enjoyed Daybreakers. However, whenever I started thinking about it too hard, I just couldn't help but feel that the vampires, well, weren't all that bright. For starters, the remaining humans were declared enemies of the state after refusing to assimilate and become vampires. What would the vampires have done from the get go if there were no humans at all to harvest blood from? Even with some human blood supply from the start, the shortage was an easily forseeable problem. Why was there no earlier attempts to stop it? No breeding program. No further development of cloning technology. Meanwhile, I could have sworn that that the guns fired at one point looked kind of lasery. Am I supposed to believe that they wasted time developing laser guns instead of using the money to fund the research for artificial blood? Why do they need lasers when humans are easily killed by a normal bullet and if they need to take down a vampire all it takes is a stake? One more thing: A security system that does nothing aside from alert you to the fact that your "door is ajar"? Whose bad idea was that? Also, why do vampires seemingly not feel compelled to lock their doors when there is obvious need to?

Honestly though, when I didn't think too much then I was able to enjoy it. I liked exploring a world where vampires were the powerful majority, not a minority in hiding, and seeing how people adapt to living in a world where the sunlight sets them on fire. These days it is definitely refreshing to see vampires portrayed as having a humane side yet without the goal of making teenage girls want to take them to prom. The plot line about Bromley (Sam Neill) and his daughter was an interesting touch which I would not have minded seeing explored further, although I know others have thought that it was a pointless addition. Perhaps it just could have been implemented a bit better. I am also a big fan of movies and books where you get to watch society crack and fall apart under the pressure of an extreme situation so I loved seeing how the vampires reacted to the blood rationing out of the knowledge of what their starvation would turn them into and seeing how what is left of their "humanity" is steadily stripped away, leaving behind something savage.

The nature of the cure is an interesting choice and, in the very least, it is original. However, the distribution of the cure creates a vicious cycle which makes the viewer question how much good it really would do to spread it. As a result of this, I was slightly disappointed with the conclusion as the protagonists plan felt like it had been set back and they were about back at step one which made certain sacrifices and scenes of gore seem like they had achieved little.

So, not an amazing movie by all means but good enough if you want to fill some time with gore, some cheap scares, and, of course, vampires.