November 02, 2009

November 02, 2009

Vampires turn into high-tech blood farmers in Daybreakers, a futuristic film set in a world where the human population has been decimated by hungry hordes of undead bloodsuckers.

The futuristic hemoglobin factories (pictured) look like something out of The Matrix: Humans stacked in a nightmare installation have their blood sucked out for vampires’ consumption. (Apparently nobody’s invented Tru Blood, the drink of choice for mainstreaming vampires in HBO’s popular True Blood series.)

It’s a promising premise, and the new Daybreakers stills and trailer look intriguing. See the trailer and several photos from the movie below.

Source - wired.com

October 20, 2009

October 03, 2009

Hands up if you thought the zombies would inherit the earth. Turns out you and George A. Romero were wrong. It's the vampires that shall wipe out most of humanity.

In their belated follow-up to 2003's Undead, which received its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest, Australia's Michael and Peter Spierig takes us a decade into the future to present a world that is on the verge of losing the last vestiges of the human race. Vampires reign supreme years after a plague turned billions into the undead. The remaining humans receive an ultimatum by the ruling majority: grow some fangs or give us your blood.

After years of sucking the human population dry, the vampires fear for their future when their source of nourishment dwindles to the point of extinction.

Enter Dr. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a hematologist working for a powerful pharmaceutical company. Dalton's charged by his boss Charles Bromley (Sam Neill) with the task of perfecting a synthetic blood substitution. What happens when a vampire succumbs to blood deprivation? They mutate into hideous, malevolent bat-like creatures known as Subsiders.

For reasons that stem from his transformation into a vampire, Dalton refuses to consume human blood. He limits himself to pig blood, but even that's in short supply. He's already showing signs of mutating.

Dalton just wants to end the blood shortage; a human, Audrey Bennett (Claudia Karvan), then out of the blue presents him with a cure to vampirism. Elvis (Willem Dafoe), a bloodsucker that reverted back to a human, is living proof that vampirism is reversible. That's all well and good, but Dalton knows the bottom line-driven Bromley will stop at nothing to prevent a cure from being presented to a thirsty public willing to pay top dollar for a drop of blood.

The idea of a vampire like Bromley feeding off the misery of his own kind is an intriguing one. But the Spierig brothers never truly commit to dissecting the economics of supply and demand during a time of crisis. Then again, it's just one of many ideas pursued by the Spierig Brothers that are never fully realized.

How about the allure of vampirism being too strong to resist? You don't age and you live forever. Hey, I understandable why a girl would rather burn to death in the sunlight than remain trapped for eternity in the body of a 10-year-old year child. But why would Dalton - 35 (again for the 10th time) and upwardly mobile - resist being a vampire when his human-hunter brother Frankie (Michael Dorman) embraces it? Dalton's actions reveal that vampires do not completely lose their moral code when their humanity is sucked right out of them. So what gives? Don't look to the Spierigs for any insights. They like to think they are making a treatise on the human condition, but they're actually too busy concocting new ways to kill off everyone in sight.

Then there's Bromley's attempt to reconcile with his daughter, Alison (Isabel Lucas). He cannot abide the notion of his only child being human, and remains deaf to her demands that she remains such. No real thought is put into the dynamics of this friction-filled father-daughter relationship other to reaffirm that Bromley's unfair and inflexible.

Perhaps this could all be overlooked if the Spierigs gave us vampires we had never seen before. Instead, they stick with all the old traits - sharp fangs, an aversion to sunlight, no reflection - and consequently their vampires lack any mystery. As for the Subsiders and their webbed forelimbs, you haven't seen sillier humanoid creatures since Resident Evil: Apocalypse's Nemesis.

I couldn't tell you the process of transforming a vampire back to a human works even if I wanted. It's one thing not to get caught up in scientific mumbo jumbo, it's another thing not to even attempt to offer whether the vaguest of explanations. You just have to take on faith that the process works; after all, we're not talking about a cure for cancer.

If it weren't for Hawke, you would wonder whether Dalton's the right man entrusted to save the vampire nation. Dalton barely says one sentence that reveals him to be a man of science. But the typically broody Hawke knows how to make Dalton seem as smart as he's supposed to be. Still, you get the sense the indie staple thinks he's above it all and would rather be working on Richard Linklater's latest chamber piece.

How could Dafoe have a blast as a former vampire named Elvis? His one-liners, which roll off his tongue with a Southern drawl, are priceless. My personal favorite? You'll know when you hear it. An urbane Neill does his devilish best, but the underwritten villainous role demands more than he can give.

Daybreakers isn't entirely a lost cause. The Spierigs concoct some adrenaline-fueled showdowns against the human survivors and their vampire adversaries, all set in a distinct blue-and-gray retro-futuristic backdrop. A confrontation with a blood-crazed Subsider speaks volumes about where the estranged Dalton brothers stand philosophically, while an attack on a kiosk that sells heavily diluted blood ably sums up the chaos that grips the vampire population.

Alison's eventual fate may not move her father, but it does have a profound impact on one major character that is in a position to influence matters. This moment of clarity comes at a time when the Spierigs condemn a civilized society for shunning its physically and mentally ill rather than trying to alleviate their pain and suffering.

As Daybreakers draws to a close, something odd happens. The Spierigs become inspired. They want to make amends for what's come before. We think they have painted themselves into a corner by concocting a vampire reversal process that seems impossible to implement. But the Spierigs find a clever way around this cumbersome procedure to not only wrap things in logical fashion but also lay down the framework for a sequel that could find the hunter becoming the hunted.

But the last electrifying 20 minutes prompts just as frustration as it does admiration. Daybreakers boasts a terrific concept that's poorly executed. The Spierigs sadly prove that two heads aren't always better than one.

Source - shocktillyoudrop.com

september 17, 2009

Back in 2002, the Spierig brothers brought the beloved zombie movie Undead to the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness gala
. This year they are back with their take on the vampire genre. Brothers Michael and Peter Spierig have once again created an original take on a timely monster that is sure to have genre fans excited and happy since they most certainly do it justice. This time with a bigger budget and bigger stars, the likes of Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe join the brothers in Daybreakers a vampire film where the vampires are the civilians and the humans are the minority.

The day after the successful premiere of the film at TIFF, I had a chance to chat to the very exhausted Michael and Peter about who came up with the idea first, a potentially fatal disease the cast and crew got and what we can expect next from the duo.

ShockTillYouDrop.com: Who came up with the idea for Daybeakers first?

Michael: Well, perhaps it was I who came up with the original idea. We were just chatting about vampire films and I threw out there, well, what if we turn the tables a little bit and the whole world has been dominated by vampires. And instead of it being post apocalyptic vampire film, let's put them back in their homes and have them try to live as normal vampire folk. The fun in that is we can add vampire modifications to lifestyles like driving during the daytime with blacked out windows and using video cameras to see where they are going.

Shock: Are they shopping at Prada stores too?

Michael: [laughs] Well no, we didn't get their sponsorship. Well, not yet!

Shock: Now, we got two writers and two directors and one movie. Is that difficult when actually being on set and filming?

Peter: Not really. We did have a lot of ideas that were thrown out but that wasn't because we didn't like them we just simply needed to focus on the story and the characters. There are just so many possibilities and a lot of which didn't end up on screen. There is no tug of war and if Michael is passionate about something and if he can convey why it's a good idea or it's not then, yeah…

Shock: You wrote Daybreakers in '03. With the new hyper popularity of vampire films and shows were you guys worried at all about the film being dumped in with the rest of them even though you had this well thought out before hand?

Michael: There have always been vampire films. It's not like they have gone away. Even if you think back to a couple years ago, you got Buffy and Angel and what was the other…

Peter: The Blade films…

Michael: It's not like there's more now. There's just more attention on them or something because there has always been a lot of vampire films. I just think there is a new audience now with Twilight, which I guess is drawing in teenagers who have never really seen this genre before.

Shock: Willem Dafoe. He's credited as Elvis. Elaborate, please!

Peter: He's a big Elvis fan! He used to design and build custom cars. His character discovers something pretty substantial in the vampire world and it can make a pretty big difference to their lives. I'm not gonna tell you what that is! You got to see the movie!

Shock: You had WETA working on the special effects here. I know you two are very hands-on with effects so did they have full creative freedom on this?

Peter: Steve [Boyle]. It was Steve's show. Absolutely his show. He worked heavily with us and with concept designers and they gave us a lot of options.

Shock: What can we expect from them in their appearance?

Peter: They have a bat-like look but they are also different from [Bram Stoker' Dracula] or any of that iconic vampire stuff. They are slightly different.

Shock: I heard some interesting things happened on set while filming. Anyone got a good story they want to share?

Peter: We had an outbreak of a virus called Shigella, which is this horrible bacterial disease, and it causes death in third world countries. We had 50 people on our crew and cast go down with this thing. It was horrendous, you would turn up one day and it would be an entirely different crew because they would have all been wiped out by this virus. Our leading lady was sick, it was really difficult to deal with, especially since you don't get any second chances to go back to a set or whatever if your actor is just, passed out!

Shock: They were all okay though in the end?

Peter: Oh yeah, but it was just horrendous. Michael got sick twice.

Shock: As I mentioned before...zombies, vampires, I'm sure you have something written for your next feature. Can you shed any light on that?

Peter: Well, we can't really mention much about it, but we can mention a project we are developing with Warner Brothers called Captain Blood. It's based on the Rafael Sabatini novel and it was also a film in the ‘30s with Errol Flynn. This is a new spin on it, it's going to be a science fiction movie.

Shock: I was hoping you would say that.

Peter: It's something really quite different. It still follows the classic story but puts it in a new light.

Source - shocktillyoudrop.com

september 17, 2009




Source - youtube.com

July 17, 2009



Lionsgate just released this teaser poster for Daybreakers, the new vampire film from the Spierig Brothers. It seems that just as they brought their own unique taste to their first film, Undead, they're going after the vampire genre in the same way. It's good to finally see something on this.

Source - chud.com

July 17, 2009

I love a good vampire movie. Give me one with a new twist on the mythology (synthetic blood!) or a classic stake-through-the-heart chiller and I'm usually sucked in, just don't crap it up with a lot of romance... or moody teens.

"Daybreakers" (in theaters January 8, 2010) looks pretty slick. I like that the earth is  now bloodsuckers only (nice twist) who are faced with a dwindling blood supply. The wealthy and powerful scheme for their survival while a small group of less-evil vampires — armed with a cure — prepare for battle. Sure, the renegade fearless vampire killers device has been done to death, but that's what I love about the genre. It takes a village... to kill the undead.

In any warring vamp flick, you need a bad-ass crossbow-slinging, quip-tossing, dusty old vet like the iconic Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) or Jack Crow (James Wood) to lead you into combat (with lots of gadgets of course). In "Daybreakers," Willem Dafoe fits that bill nicely, Billy D. does no wrong in my book.

Regarding the rest of the team, I'm always excited to see who gets to play the super dweeby computer genius (Remember Patton Oswalt in Blade Trinity?) and also pick out which expendable members will be killed early (overly brazen always leads to buried) and which favorite will sadly be killed near the end doing something selflessly heroic to save the others (pretty sure Ethan Hawke will eat it in the end of this one, hopefully his goatee will survive).

Yes, it's all quite expected and a tad predictable, but I crave it. FYI, If I was part of the team, I would spend most of my time putting together a real cool outfit (lots of zippers and pockets for antidotes, knives and snacks) and of course, looking for places to hide.

Source - usedwigs.com

July 17, 2009

July 13, 2009

The Time is right for Daybreakers given the growing popularity of Twilight, but are vampire lovers ready for vampire virus outbreak? The Twilight Saga media frenzy has been steadily chugging along toward the New Moon release date for November but another vampire film is jumping into the Twilight limelight, as Daybreakers hopes to take a bite out of the box-office jugular.

Written and directed by German brothers Michael and Peter Spierig, Daybreakers is a vampire tale with a different twist, with layers similar to Danny Boy's scarefest 28 Days where zombies take over the world after a virus outbreak and few humans remain to repopulate the earth. Daybreakers stars Ethan Hawke, Sam Neil, William Dafoe, and Isabel Lucas who is the new paparazzi darling after her breakout role in Transformers 2: Revenge of the fallen. Lucas is also well known in her native Australia for her role as Tasha on the soap Home and Away.

It's a battle of wills in Daybreakers as the vampires try to farm the remaining humans to maintain their food supply while, Edward , played by Ethan Hawke, a scientist looking to find a cure to help save the human race, Elvis (Dafoe), and Alison (Lucas) try to find a way to save the humanity from extinction. To large degree, Daybreakers is a cinematic race for survival with humans and vampires dying to win.

Can the soon to be Twilight saturated movie world handle yet another vampire-themed film? Apparently the sub-genre hasn't been sucked dry (pun intended) completely since movie-making creatives are continuing to churn out anything that resembles human entity with fangs. New Moon will be released in theatres on November 20, 2009 but Daybreakers won't take a bite out of the big screen until January of 2010.

When looking at release dates and box-office success, timing is everything in the film world. Interestingly, Daybreakers was filmed in 2007, a full year before Twilight even hit theatres. The Twilight Saga is paying off in more ways than one.

Source - thedeadbolt.com

July 13, 2009



Source - traileraddict.com

July 12, 2009

Ethan Hawke as Edward Dalton, a vampire researcher who tries to save humanity from extinction.

Sam Neill as a vampire in charge of a corporation.

Willem Dafoe is a cured vampire who duels with Hawke's character.

Claudia Karvan is appointed to fill in the position which will find her playing a human love interest for Ethan Hawke's vampire character.

Vince Colosimo in an unnamed role, but according to Variety, he will be appearing alongside both Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe in the vampire flick.

Isabel Lucas as Alison Bromley, play the last surviving member of the human race

Source - en.wikipedia.org aceshowbiz.com movieweb.com news.com.au

July 12, 2009



On the phone, it's pretty hard to distinguish between twin Aussie filmmakers, Peter and Michael Spierig. The brothers' voices, no surprise, aren't too dissimilar. But, fortunately, neither is their love of horror, evident in their debut feature, the indie Australian zombie thriller Undead. With their sophomore effort, the Spierigs are exploring a new level of darkness, by tackling everyone's other favorite undead. Fresh from their film's shoot, the two filmmakers spoke with FEARnet about the futuristic vampire world of Daybreakers.

The whole interview can be read here.

Source - moviesonline.ca

July 10, 2009

There is alot of speculation on whether or not Ethan Hawke is going to play a Vampire or not in the upcoming DayBreakers movie. So we decided to go right to the source Ethan himself to find out the truth. Is he or is he not playing a vampire in the film? The answer... Yes! Quote:

Day after tomorrow I’m going to Australia to do a vampire movie. It’s called "Daybreakers.” It’s a terrific script but nothing like anything I’ve ever done before. These two brothers (Michael and Peter Spierig) from Australia. They wrote an incredible ‘vampires as allegory’ story. It takes place in the future when we’re all vampires but we’ve consumed all our own resources – humans -- and so it’s a whole world of vampires.

He told us he is playing a vampire and has already been fitted for his prosthetic teeth!

Source - moviesonline.ca

July 10, 2009

The synopsis for the film is as follows: Vampirism has spread like a plague in ten short years and only 5% of the population remains human, an endangered species being hunted and farmed for their precious life-source. Two brothers, one who believes in the Vampire Cause, and the other who still mourns his lost humanity, are on opposing sides of the fight. The two must ultimately face-off in a deathly struggle that brings the key to saving the human race and salvation to a dying vampire population.

Source - horror-movies.ca