Daybreakers

It’s 2019 and a global pandemic has transformed most of humanity into vampires. Blood is now a commodity but, as the human population dwindles, the supply is running out. Now only the rich can afford the stuff, while the rest of society crashes to a violent halt.

Faced with extinction, Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a haematologist with a guilty conscience (that’ll be all those liquid lunches), is tasked with finding an alternative to the red stuff.

The scenario bears more than a passing resemblance to the imminent fuel crisis. Sam Neill’s performance as an evil CEO looking after his profit margin in the midst of a global meltdown is a slightly unfair shot at corporate America.

But don’t let that put you off – original vampire flicks are a rare breed. Daybreakers drops the tradition of beasties lurking in the dark in favour of humans hiding in the sunlight. The result isn’t as slick or as action-packed as some of its recent peers, but it does manage to stand out in a very well-trodden genre.

Released 31st May