Do you know what 'Screamers' are? No, I'm not talking about that weird 1995. movie, I'm talking about those movie clips or Powerpoint presentations that are supposedly showing you something peaceful and relaxing, but just as you start wondering why the hell did your friend forward this to you there's a sudden close-up of something positively disgusting accompanied by an obnoxiously loud sound effect, resulting in you crapping your pants.
Well, that's "Daybreakers" in a nutshell for you.
"Daybreakers" is supposed to be a movie about a society where vampires took over and humans are hunted and farmed for blood. What it is though, is a series of jumpscares. The movie literally starts with one, and helpfully provides another barely a minute after. And this keeps on throughout the entire movie - the director is so insistent on close-ups and loud soundtrack, not because it helps the story, but because he can easily sucker-punch you with another jumpscare. And this gets old. Really, really, old.
And you know what? It's irritating. I was actually quite interested in a story. And it's not a bad story (well, until the deus ex machina eventually starts clunking away) but anyway. But I've found it utterly impossible to immerse myself in it and suspend my disbelief with the director so persistently trying to BOO! me into believing the movie is better than it really is.
There's also gore. Now I don't mind gore, this is a vampire movie, after all and gore was to be expected. However in "Daybreakers" it's gratuitous as hell - some scenes simply relish into shoving your face in a recently dismembered part of human anatomy, and when vampires die, they will burst like huge water balloons filled with blood, painting the room and the camera in raspberry jelly. But only sometimes, and when it is required for shock value; other times they will simply evaporate in mid-air. Oh, and btw, vampires in this movie are pussified vampires the likes seen in Buffy - if you wave a wooden pencil in a close proximity of their heart, they will die instantly. Even if they are "soldier weapons" and their uniform should at least have some sort of chest padding at least in the heart area. You must wonder how they enslaved humanity, after all.
Now perhaps you do not see where I'm going with this. Scares? Blood? It's a vampire movie, after all! Well, sure, if this were a campy horror movie I would be enjoying my socks off. But the movie goes to great lengths trying to be all gritty, realistic and serious, at times even deep, yet he also relishes in cheap scares and gratuitous gore. It just doesn't work.
Oh, I could find more faults if I wanted. The characters are rather two dimensional and there is really no development at all - except for the main guy's brother, who is probably the most interesting character in the movie. The rest of them are either obvious protagonists or antagonists, with a usual exception of bit parts who could swing either way, depending what the script needs. And, as I said, when deus ex machina arises it's REALLY hard to suspend your desbelief (although the irony it infuses the plot with is mildly enjoyable, I must admit).
I am sure that this could have been a very good movie, had other people been at the helm. As I said, this "inverted" story where being vampire is the norm seems rather interesting, and I've found certain parts of the movie quite enjoyable. But overall, I've found it unpleasant, a bit frustrating and while not being a bad movie per se, not being something I would easily recommend either.
5/10
Well, that's "Daybreakers" in a nutshell for you.
"Daybreakers" is supposed to be a movie about a society where vampires took over and humans are hunted and farmed for blood. What it is though, is a series of jumpscares. The movie literally starts with one, and helpfully provides another barely a minute after. And this keeps on throughout the entire movie - the director is so insistent on close-ups and loud soundtrack, not because it helps the story, but because he can easily sucker-punch you with another jumpscare. And this gets old. Really, really, old.
And you know what? It's irritating. I was actually quite interested in a story. And it's not a bad story (well, until the deus ex machina eventually starts clunking away) but anyway. But I've found it utterly impossible to immerse myself in it and suspend my disbelief with the director so persistently trying to BOO! me into believing the movie is better than it really is.
There's also gore. Now I don't mind gore, this is a vampire movie, after all and gore was to be expected. However in "Daybreakers" it's gratuitous as hell - some scenes simply relish into shoving your face in a recently dismembered part of human anatomy, and when vampires die, they will burst like huge water balloons filled with blood, painting the room and the camera in raspberry jelly. But only sometimes, and when it is required for shock value; other times they will simply evaporate in mid-air. Oh, and btw, vampires in this movie are pussified vampires the likes seen in Buffy - if you wave a wooden pencil in a close proximity of their heart, they will die instantly. Even if they are "soldier weapons" and their uniform should at least have some sort of chest padding at least in the heart area. You must wonder how they enslaved humanity, after all.
Now perhaps you do not see where I'm going with this. Scares? Blood? It's a vampire movie, after all! Well, sure, if this were a campy horror movie I would be enjoying my socks off. But the movie goes to great lengths trying to be all gritty, realistic and serious, at times even deep, yet he also relishes in cheap scares and gratuitous gore. It just doesn't work.
Oh, I could find more faults if I wanted. The characters are rather two dimensional and there is really no development at all - except for the main guy's brother, who is probably the most interesting character in the movie. The rest of them are either obvious protagonists or antagonists, with a usual exception of bit parts who could swing either way, depending what the script needs. And, as I said, when deus ex machina arises it's REALLY hard to suspend your desbelief (although the irony it infuses the plot with is mildly enjoyable, I must admit).
I am sure that this could have been a very good movie, had other people been at the helm. As I said, this "inverted" story where being vampire is the norm seems rather interesting, and I've found certain parts of the movie quite enjoyable. But overall, I've found it unpleasant, a bit frustrating and while not being a bad movie per se, not being something I would easily recommend either.
5/10