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Daybreakers | 2009 | R | - 5.10.6

A minority of humans living in the year 2019 is hunted by the majority, that now consists of vampires who want to harvest their blood. After many years of harvesting and a dwindling human population, a hematologist (Ethan Hawke) is working against the clock to develop a blood alternative that will keep the vampire population from becoming violent. Also with Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Isabel Lucas, Claudia Karvan, Michael Dorman, Vince Colosimo, Jay Laga'aia and Damien Garvey. Directed by Michael & Peter Spierig. [1:38]

SEX/NUDITY 5 - There are several scenes that show a human harvesting machine where human men and human women are attached to a device that harvests their blood; the humans are completely nude with bare breasts and abdomens and legs visible on women and bare chests, abdomens and legs visible on men (genitals are covered by a device).
 A woman wears a low-cut tank top that reveals cleavage and erect nipples through the fabric. A woman wears a low-cut dress in several scenes that reveals cleavage. A young woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage.
 Using crude terms, a man makes a remark about it being dangerous to have unprotected sex with an inexpensive prostitute.
 A man and a woman hold hands. A man and a woman hug a couple of times.

VIOLENCE/GORE 10 - A man is strapped into a chair and gagged, and many vampires attack him: they bite and tear at his body, blood pours and sprays, he screams, we see his head separate and we hear tissue tearing. Many vampires attack many humans, biting and tearing at their flesh: we see some holding organs and chewing on them and others tearing at flesh and drinking blood, and blood pours and sprays. A man is attacked by many vampires: we see him struggle for a short time, then he falls to the ground and we see the vampires tearing at his flesh.
 A young girl leaves her house, sits in the front yard and watches as the sun rises above a mountain peak and when she is struck by rays, she screams, her flesh chars and breaks apart and she bursts into flames (we see a suicide note that she has left behind). Several vampires are shot and when struck burst into flames and disintegrate. A woman stabs a vampire in the neck, blood spurts and he explodes. A vampire is shot with an arrow, and he bursts into flames (we see his face in agony as he is engulfed in flames).
 A vampire is injected with a blood substitute, his temperature increases, he projectile vomits on a nurse standing next to him, his skin begins to develop boils, he thrashes, he is injected with something else and he explodes (we see blood spray all around the room and hear tissue splatter against walls and the floor).
 A gruesome winged creature enters a vampire's house, snarls, growls, lunges at two vampires, licks blood off a wall and a counter, a vampire holds a knife to it, and it strikes him, throwing him hard into a wall and he crashes through a glass table (we see him with a bloody face and unconscious); the creature hangs from the ceiling and swings its wings at the two vampires, one vampire slashes the creature across the abdomen (blood pours in torrents), and the vampire slashes the creature across the throat and then cuts its head off (more blood pours on the floor and its head plops on the floor).
 A vampire shoots several humans; they flinch when struck and fall to the floor dead. We see many dead human bodies in a room with gaping, bloody wounds and one vampire's head is severed and separated from his body.
 We see many blood-starved vampires (in various stages of change to violent, winged creatures) chained together and being pulled into the sunlight: as each is exposed, they burst into flames, and screech while other vampires watch and cheer. A vampire is struck by sunlight, he bursts into flames (we hear him scream and see him engulfed), but the flames are extinguished and he is OK; this is repeated several times.
 A vampire approaches a young woman in a threatening manner, she resists him, and he grabs her and bites her on the neck (we hear crunching, blood pours, we see his face covered with blood and her neck and chest is also covered with blood). A vampire gnaws on her own wrists (we see blood dripping on the floor, blood on her arms, blood on her face), she attacks another vampire, and she is pulled off and dragged away screaming and thrashing. A vampire bites a man on the neck (we hear a crunch and blood pours down his shirt). A vampire bites a man on the neck (we see him with blood on his neck), and another vampire shoots the first vampire (he falls to the ground and thrashes).
 At a crime scene, we see a lot of blood on walls and floors and the remains of a beheaded winged creature: the bloody head is dropped into a large plastic bag, and a finger of the creature is snipped off (we hear a crunch and see the separated digit). A woman shoots a crossbow and strikes a vampire in the arm (we hear a crunch, he yells, and we see blood and the metal rod through his arm).
 Many armed vampires surround and attack many humans, and they fire back and forth: humans are struck with darts (they fall unconscious) and vampires are struck with arrows. An armed vampire grabs a woman from behind, holds her at gunpoint and threatens another vampire and a man; the vampire with the gun is rendered unconscious after being struck by the sun's rays (his face sizzles and he falls to the ground).
 A medic tweezes chards of glass out of the cheek of a vampire (we hear crunching). We hear a squish when a vampire pulls an arrow out of his arm. A dead human body is rolled on a gurney out of a human blood harvesting area.
 A vampire grabs another vampire who's selling blood at a kiosk, demands more blood, and grabs a bag of blood hanging inside the kiosk, which breaks open covering the vampire with blood; he and others begin to lick the blood and attack the vampires in the kiosk trying to get more blood, before they are tasered by police.
 A vampire tries to embraces his daughter, she pushes him away and it is revealed that she has stabbed him in the abdomen (we see a red patch on his shirt and we later see him on a medical table being treated).
 A woman is restrained and bleeding from the wrists. A vampire drinks blood from a wine goblet. A woman cuts her own hand, blood pours into a cup, and she hands it to a vampire who drinks it (we see a drop of blood on his lip). Two vampires fight over a bottle of blood: one tries to pour it down a drain, and the other pulls the bottle from him and throws it against a wall (blood splatters on the wall and floor). A vampire pours blood out of a bottle and into a glass of ice (like a cocktail). Vampires buy cups of blood from a shop (like a coffee shop) and drink from cups while waiting for their subway trains (we see blood bags hanging inside the shop). A vampire stirs blood in a cup of coffee (he does not drink it). A man shows scars on his throat.
 An armored vehicle drives over a broken bridge, it is impaled by girders, blood sprays out of the back window, and the car explodes and falls to the ground below. A vampire drives a car, crashes into a barricade, is thrown through the windshield, he bursts into flames and lands in a body of water (we see him with bloody cuts on his face but he is otherwise OK). A vampire drives in the daylight, and gets out of the car under a large shade tree, moving gingerly to avoid the rays of the sun. A vampire riding in a car is singed by the sun's rays when the car's protective windshield is breeched (he's OK). Several armored vehicles chase a car and shoot at it; the driver of the car swerves on the road trying to avoid them. A man is distracted while driving, swerves to miss another car, nearly crashes and the other car crashes into a power generator (the passengers do not appear injured).
 There are several scenes that show a human harvesting machine where human men and human women are attached to a device that harvests their blood and we see a couple of people with blood trickling from injection sites at the neck. We see photos of a vampire who was slowly starved of blood and watch his extreme deterioration (physical deformities, loss of teeth, loss of hair, etc.); another vampire talks about his becoming violent and animalistic.
 A vampire snarls and lunges at another vampire, and he is snared by police, which uses devices that clamp around his neck and shock him (he thrashes and falls to the ground). We see vampires rioting over blood rationing (we see riot police striking vampires with clubs). A vampire strikes a young woman in the face with a gun butt and she falls unconscious.
 Two winged creatures hanging upside down from under a subway platform attack each other (we hear a screech). A bat screeches across the screen a couple of times.
 Several armed vampires search for humans in a winery (no one is found). A woman with a crossbow threatens a vampire.
 A vampire thrashes, moans, and gasps for air. A woman is shot with a dart, she falls unconscious and is taken away.
 A vampire says to another vampire, "I hunt them and you farm them," referring to humans. A vampire wears a sign that reads "Starving… need blood." We hear that a cemetery was dug up by vampires looking for human blood. There are several newspaper headlines that refer to "blood substitutes" and TV news shows that talk about the blood supply being dangerously low. We hear about vampires that have been starved of blood and have begun to change into thoughtless, violent creatures.

LANGUAGE 6 - About 16 F-words and its derivatives, 18 scatological terms, anatomical terms, 8 mild obscenities, name-calling (filthy rats, ugly, weak, coward), 3 religious profanities, 1 religious exclamation.

SUBSTANCE USE - Vampires buy blood and drink it poured over ice like a cocktail and a vampire drinks blood from a wine goblet. A young girl vampire smokes a cigarette, a male vampire smokes cigarettes in several scenes, male vampires smoke cigars during a meeting, and several vampires smoke cigarettes while waiting for a train.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Vampires, suicide, immortality, betrayal, family bonds, extermination.

MESSAGE - Immortality has trade-offs. Desperation can lead to all sorts of unpleasant circumstances.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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