Daybreakers

The bloody but gutless Daybreakers is the epitome of “high-concept filmmaking,” a misleading term that actually defines a movie so low in concept, it can be explained in one concise blurb. In this case, it’s about “a world where vampires run society”; the film is set in 2019, so there’s still time to stock up on garlic. Then again, we never did find the black monolith promised by 2001 (Tyler Perry doesn’t count). As with most “high-concept” pictures, the makers of Daybreakers never developed it beyond a six-word pitch, so a promising opening fizzles fast. Ethan Hawke plays a vampire scientist too self-loathing to feed who’s researching a “cure” that certain powers want to squelch. Director brothers Michael and Peter Spierig are slated to helm a sequel to The Dark Crystal next, so there’s another precious childhood memory down the drain.