Daybreakers
Lionsgate | Release Date: January 8, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
A darkly stylish horror film. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Daybreakers is more serious, from its A-list cast to its political commentary, with blood as a metaphor for oil. Like the best genre films, it has something on its mind. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Peter and Michael Spierig's earlier, campier horror outing, the zombie picture known as "Undead," was even bloodier than this one. The movie-makers are after bigger game here, and a subtler mixture of speculative nightmare and action film. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
While the characters are B-movie thin, the dialogue standard-issue, and the CG and matte effects only passable at best, it's undeniable fun to behold the likes of serious thespians Hawke and Dafoe slumming around in this cheeseball stuff. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Daybreakers has unexpected flashes of brilliance. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The symbolism is about as subtle as a fang to the neck. Really, Daybreakers is more fun than foreboding; it's fright-lite, yet that's par for the bloody course in these busy apocalyptic days. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
On balance, however, there are more things to like about Daybreakers than to dislike. The production is loaded with impressive touches, some more nuanced than others. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
Daybreakers isn't a great film, but it's a good one, and in a market oddly lousy with vampire tales, it's an original. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderCliff Doerksen
Just when it seemed as if the vampire narrative had degenerated into terminal suckitude, along comes this gleefully gory little gem. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
The narrative may flag, but the doomsday atmosphere and George Liddle’s production design remain vivid until the final, blood-splattered reel. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
It’s a little bit silly – as is Dafoe’s Kentucky-fried cowboy mechanic named Elvis – but silly is fun. In fact, one wishes it were sillier still. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This intriguing premise, alas, ends as so many movies do these days, with fierce fights and bloodshed. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Daybreakers, despite the star presence of Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe, is a B movie, with all the disreputable low rent, lowbrow pleasures that implies. I'll take that over pompous any day. Read full review
63
PremiereNick Starkey
A slick, bloody, fast-paced, and ultimately enjoyable B-movie. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Daybreakers is entertaining, though not quite up to the standards of "28 Days Later." Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
Possibly the least sexy vampire flick ever to crawl out of the crypt (it never occurs to anyone that biting someone's neck is kinda intimate; the act is strictly utilitarian), but it's unusually detailed in its imagining. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'Hara
Lots of interesting concepts competing for limited running time make for more of a TV pilot than a feature film. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis Harvey
The script doesn't wring many surprises or much character involvement from the premise, and the brothers' helming, while slick, is short on scares, action setpieces and humor. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The idea goes only so far--roughly halfway through the 98-minute running time--in staining narrative clarity. Daybreakers finally comes up with some comments on the predatory practices of Big Pharma, but that's an awful comedown from the blood-rushing brilliance of the early scenes. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineSteve Ramos
The Spierigs make exciting use of their clever vampire premise and the result is a potential horror/action franchise equal to "Underworld." Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
After a while, Daybreakers settles into the lulling rhythms of too many horror movies, as the characters ponder what to do in darkened rooms instead of doing much of anything. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
Wearisome "Ain't it cool?" video-game splatter-violence is all that's memorable of the action, while a (mixed) metaphorical subtext of conservationism can't save a text that squanders its actors. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Daybreakers turns?into a ponderous apocalyptic chase film -- it's like "Children of Men" with exploding-plasma shock effects. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Hawke is half-assed throughout, showing passion only when he's screaming like a little girl when something scary happens. The visuals have a dingy, unfocused quality, especially in the muddy visual-effects-enhanced backdrops. And some of the plot turns are awful. The vampire "cure" is so stupid, you'll want to walk out of the theater, even if you normally like this kind of movie. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterMaitland McDonagh
The Spierigs have assembled a strong cast, but even their best efforts -- notably by Neill, whose Bromley is the ultimate vampire squid, tentacles wrapped around the face of this scary new world -- can't pump any real life into the bloodless script. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Despite the Spierig brothers' punchy visual style and satiric tone, Daybreakers eventually devolves, though Dafoe and his Southern drawl goose things up and Hawke has a greasy romanticism. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Hawke gives his all here -- or maybe just half his all -- and it isn't quite enough: He's trying to be soulful, but he really just looks a little tired. The real delight is Willem Dafoe, as the rednecky leader of the survivor humans. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
In standard-narrative terms, Daybreakers suffers from tired blood. No question the Spierigs are prime film imagineers. What they needed here was a director. Read full review
38
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
In the end, Daybreakers doesn't really want to make anyone think too hard. If that were to happen, they might stop to wonder why all the human survivors out there hiding in fear of their lives don't just become garlic farmers and call it a day. Read full review
38
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
Daybreakers is a stylish but unavoidably silly sci-fi vampire thriller. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesMichael Ordona
Any higher intentions are brought crashing down by predictability, wooden characters, giggle-inducing attempts at scares (shrieking bats, anyone?) and cinematography so gloomy it should be checked for serotonin deficiency. Read full review
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