If Daybreakers is any indication of the direction genre films are headed, then consider me officially excited. After the schmaltzy, teen angsty vibe brought to the vampire mythos in Twilight, Daybreakers is just the sort of vampire rebirth bloodsucker fans have been waiting for. Daybreakers imagines a future where vampires are the majority and humans are the minority. In this future, the undead have depleted their food supply leaving a team of vampire scientists (one of whom doesn't even like his own kind) to come up with a blood substitute (or a cure). Meanwhile, small packs of human survivors continue to fight the good fight in an effort to preserve their race. There's a flurry of social commentary flowing through the blood of this clever vampire film, and beyond this noteworthy fact, it's just plain entertaining.

Daybreakers is gorgeous to look at, briskly paced, and wonderfully acted by a host of outstanding thespos including Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, and Willem Dafoe. What's more, innovative directors Michael and Peter Spierg have opted to shoot a majority of the picture sans CG. There are moments that resort to digital trickery, but most of the make-up effects are old school and this lends a certain level of realism that the similarly themed I Am Legend was sorely lacking. Daybreakers' tone is a little shifty. Parts of the film are deadly serious while other parts slip into B-movie overdrive, but ultimately, I was sucked into this awesome universe. This film is scary, cool, briskly paced, and surprisingly dramatic. Its clear that the Spierg Brothers are fond of genre films as their Daybreakers winningly pays homage to the likes of Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, and George Romero all while creating a wildly original universe. Daybreakers would have benefitted from a bigger budget and a little more character development, but as a whole, I really fell in love with this creative movie.