Overview
Daybreakers is a 2009 science-fiction action horror film written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film takes place in a futuristic world overrun by vampires, and centers around a vampiric corporation which sets out to capture and farm the remaining humans while researching a substitute for human blood. Ethan Hawke plays vampire hematologist Edward Dalton, whose work is interrupted by human survivors led by former vampire "Elvis" (Willem Dafoe), who has a cure that can save the human species.
An international co-production between Australia and the United States, Daybreakers premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2010 and in North America on 8 January 2010. The film grossed over $50 million worldwide and received mixed critical reception.
Plot
In 2009, a plague caused by an infected bat transformed most of the world's population into vampires. The human population plummets, leaving vampires with a severe shortage of blood; vampires deprived of blood degenerate into psychotic, bat-like "subsiders". Most humans are captured and harvested in laboratory farms while scientists research synthetic substitute. As sunlight is deadly to vampires, underground passages and UV-filtered cars are built for safe travel, while the few free humans travel by day, hiding in open spaces.
In 2019, Edward Dalton is the head hematologist for Bromley Marks, a pharmaceutical company that is the largest supplier of human blood in the U.S. Edward and colleague Christopher Caruso are developing a blood substitute.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).