Daybreakers

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Daybreakers

R

2010

1h 38m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

155 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.

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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.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Oct 26, 2020

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

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Laura Kern

Film Comment Magazine

Sep 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.

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C. Robert Cargill

Film.com

May 6, 2011

A

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

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Joe Lipsett

Queer.Horror.Movies.

Sep 22, 2025

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.

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Nov 20, 2023

3/4

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

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aug 25, 2023

3/4

Daybreakers proves Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig have the potential to become great genre filmmakers

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Jeepers C

@RT12312147 May 24, 2026

Definitely, worth a watch.

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Haytham O

@UtahOcean Apr 2, 2026

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.

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OxfordH 2

@Dreameater2018 Nov 23, 2025

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

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Phil, e C

@RT75412357 Nov 8, 2025

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!

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MA A.

@MWAMD Oct 5, 2025

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

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Oaklee D

@ODie63 Sep 29, 2025

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.

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Michael Spierig

Director

Peter Spierig

Director

Ethan Hawke

Edward Dalton

Willem Dafoe

Lionel "Elvis" Cormac

Claudia Karvan

Audrey Bennett

Michael Dorman

Frankie Dalton

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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)

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