Daybreakers

Play trailer

1:01

Daybreakers

R

2010

1h 38m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

156 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Ten years after a plague turns most of the world's population into vampires, a critical blood shortage causes panic and gruesome mutations among the reanimated. Edward (Ethan Hawke), a vampire hematologist, tries to develop a blood substitute when he meets Lionel (Willem Dafoe) and Audrey (Claudia Karvan), two fugitive humans who claim to have a possible cure. Edward casts his lot with them in the hope of perfecting the cure before it's too late.

Critics Consensus

Though it arrives during an unfortunate glut of vampire movies, Daybreakers offers enough dark sci-fi thrills -- and enough of a unique twist on the genre -- to satisfy filmgoers.

Read Critics Reviews

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

10/26/2020

The conceit is worked out in whiz-bang diabolical detail... and brought to life with imaginative effects.

Go to Full Review

Laura Kern

Film Comment Magazine

09/24/2014

A slick, violent, and intensely gloomy horror/action/sci-fi hybrid that stands out in a crowded field of end-of-mankind movie scenarios.

Go to Full Review

C. Robert Cargill

Film.com

05/06/2011

A

Daybreakers is the pinnacle of fun, modern sci-fi horror actioners.

Go to Full Review

Juan Pablo Pugliese

EscribiendoCine

Jan 28

6/10

With interesting twists and familiar metaphorical elements, Daybreakers is a distinguished combination of action and special effects, whose cast supports an ingenious plot... [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Queer.Horror.Movies.

Sep 22

3.5/5

The film's climax is so lurid and operatic that it nearly punts the film into camp territory, but the story and world building is strong enough that the Spierig Brothers’ tendency to fall back on familiar tropes is forgivable.

Go to Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

11/20/2023

3/4

As a vigorous reclamation of what vampire-genre movies should be, "Daybreakers" is, oh, positive.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Haytham O

@UtahOcean Apr 2

Pushing aside all its flaws, I think this was an excellent and fresh take on vampire movies. Good action, but more importantly, a sense of intriguing imminent discovery vital to the survival of > whichever side you feel you would support in this universe<. Absolutely worth a watch, and maybe even a few reruns.

See more

OxfordH 2

@Dreameater2018 Nov 23

Always loved this one. Creepy, suspenseful, and emotional. Worth a watch.

See more

Phil, e C

@RT75412357 Nov 8

Cliche ridden, hackneyed, predictable. If you want to have a merry old time laughing at the various bits that are unintentionally hilarious then this is great. Sci fi? No. Horror? Not really. The movie is in it's own genre: Vampanto, it's just a shame nobody on set knew that when they shot it!

See more

MA A.

@MWAMD Oct 5

Interesting taking on vampires. I enjoyed the movie and would watch it again

See more

Oaklee D

@ODie63 Sep 29

An odd dystopian vampire film with some 50/50 special effects. Half the time they're great and the other half are cheese. The opening title sequence is one of the cheapest things I've seen this year. Overall it's an ok film if you want to waste some time on a rainy day.

See more

K P

@RT77392305 Sep 14

I enjoyed the film, and I thought the music was great!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Michael Spierig

Director

Peter Spierig

Director

Ethan Hawke

Edward Dalton

Willem Dafoe

Lionel "Elvis" Cormac

Claudia Karvan

Audrey Bennett

Michael Dorman

Frankie Dalton

View more videos

Resident Evil: Retribution

28%

51%

Resident Evil: Retribution

Watchlist

Pandorum

26%

49%

Pandorum

Watchlist

Doom

18%

34%

Doom

Watchlist

Upgrade

88%

88%

Upgrade

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Upgrade

Doomsday

50%

44%

Doomsday

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Daybreakers: Trailer 2

1:01

Daybreakers: Trailer 1

2:22

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Ten years after a plague turns most of the world's population into vampires, a critical blood shortage causes panic and gruesome mutations among the reanimated. Edward (Ethan Hawke), a vampire hematologist, tries to develop a blood substitute when he meets Lionel (Willem Dafoe) and Audrey (Claudia Karvan), two fugitive humans who claim to have a possible cure. Edward casts his lot with them in the hope of perfecting the cure before it's too late.

Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Producer: Chris Brown, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst
Screenwriter: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Australian Film Finance Corporation, Furst Films, Paradise Productions, Lionsgate Films, Pacific Film and Television Commission
Rating: R (Language|Brief Nudity|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 8, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 17, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $30.0M
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now