If you're a vampire lover that hates the Twilight Saga because it isn't gory enough, I've got great news for you.  Every drop of blood not used in those two films, and actually every drop of blood left over from every horror movie in the last five years, makes its disgusting, liquid debut in the film Daybreakers.

Set in a time where the humans instead of the vampires are hiding in the shadows, Daybreakers is about the crisis of a dwindling food supply because of the pending extinction of humans.  Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is the lead hematologist trying to discover a suitable synthetic blood for the vampires to eat.  If he isn't successful, the vampires will begin feeding on each other and become incredibly strong and incredibly disgusting mutants.

The premise of this film is engaging and original; a rarity these days in vampire genre.  The idea of a vampire world with all of its adjustments and problems is absolutely fascinating.  Incorporating ideas about hunger rationing, starving nations, vampire politics, and elite society is brilliant.  The idea that starving the poor vampires actually turns them into monsters more powerful physically than the rich vampires is compelling to consider. 

A third of the way into this film I had my fingers crossed that it would be more than just a cool premise.  While the plot is not as solid as the premise, I think it was sufficient enough to be interesting (more on this below).  The acting was par for this kind of movie and it was visually attractive, with unique art direction.  Unfortunately while the movie is filled with unique and subtle touches, there is nothing unique or subtle about the gore.  Expect everything from projectile vomit to exploding bodies to endless decapitations.  One scene toward the end is so outrageous that several members of the audience where pointing and laughing.  Surely that wasn't the intended reaction.

 So How Does It End?

Through a series of events Dalton ends up discovering a cure instead of a new source of food.  While it seems crazy to consider a vampire could be turned back into a human, to paraphrase one of the film's characters, it's also crazy to think someone without a beating heart could walk around in the first place.  

My problem is that the initial cure is a little weak.  Apparently if a vampire is exposed to enough sunlight to catch on fire, but extinguished in time, then it jumps starts the heart and they're human again.  Unfortunately the film shows several vamps getting fried pretty quickly by the sun...like to the point of bones and ash in less than 15 seconds.  So why when Dalton exposes himself several times he doesn't even get burned?  It's not a major flaw, but it crosses your mind and would have been easy to fix.

The second cure is a lot more clever.  When a vampire sucks the blood of a cured vampire (thinking they're just any old human), they turn human as well!  You can only imagine the chain reaction type feeding frenzy this creates in a world full of starving vampires.  My only wish here is that as the "sun rises on a new day," it would have been more powerful to have at least one other surviving human in the shot.

This is not a film for anyone with a weak stomach, but it's an intriguing watch.  Mostly due to its originality, Daybreakers gets 4 out of 5 stars.