October Horror Challenge 2017 #13: "Daybreakers"

I saw this movie back in 2010 when it was first released on DVD. It was a simpler time back then, but even then I could see parallels between the plot of this movie and actual events that could occur in the future if we weren't careful (and really, when are we EVER careful?) Most apocalyptic movies feature a world devastated by war or plague or zombies or whatever, with  the movie focusing on a small group of survivors trying to live as best they can with rapidly deleting resources and threats from all around trying to kill them even sooner. Honestly, this kind of movie freaks me out. I've been poor, I've wondered where my next meal was going to come from, and what would happen if resources ran out, and I know this is an everyday struggle for lots of people. I say all of that to say this: these movies are scary to me not just because of what's happening onscreen, but what I fear could actually happen in real life. In the future. Or, you know, a week from now, the way things are going. Creepy, huh?

This movie is a little different. In the future, vampires have become the controlling race, and they farm humans for blood in order to survive. Of course, when the supply runs out, what will they do to survive? Complicating things, if vampires become deprived of blood for too long and they drink their own blood or that of other vampires, they turn into nasty creatures called "subsiders" with basically no conscience or trace of humanity, who live only to feed. Once this happens, they must be executed. So basically, vampires are screwed if they don't find a new way to harvest more blood. One of the biggest blood supply chains employs a researcher played by Ethan Hawke, who is busy looking for a way to make a synthetic blood substitute, so vampires can live without having to farm humans. While doing his research, he stumbles upon an underground group of humans led by a man who claims to have once been a vampire, but now has been cured. Soon, Ethan Hawke is seeking to be cured himself, and to find a way to replicate the cure on a global scale so that vampires can be human again. Unfortunately, not all the vampires WANT to be cured, they want to live forever and find a way to keep feeding on humans, so they fight back against the crusaders, and it all becomes a big, bloody mess.

I really like the way this movie builds its world and draws us in. It's an moral dilemma, one we face now trying to find a way to ethically source our food so we can maintain a food supply without decimating the earth, except in this movie, the food supply is US. Take THAT, humans. How do YOU like being way lower on the food chain? I also appreciate the good acting, and how everyone is totally committed to their performances (no one is phoning it in here), the special effects are great, the storyline is an interesting twist on an old classic. I loved this one just as much now as I did when I first saw it (though it does seem a little closer to home now). I'm glad I revisited this movie for the challenge this year.