Vampire movies have been a staple of the cinematic diet for a century, but the subgenre has become so increasingly ubiquitous that it’s growing ever more difficult to put a fresh spin on the standard tropes and trappings audiences have come to expect from a story revolving around the bloodsucking undead.
Peter and Michael Spierig did an excellent job with 2009’s Daybreakers, though, which has long since cemented a reputation as a cult classic. Taking a talented cast and a high concept, the sibling writers and directors crafted an impressively ambitious hybrid of sci-fi, action, and horror, one that continues to draw in new fans.
As per FlixPatrol, Daybreakers spent the weekend as one of the most-watched titles on Prime Video, reinforcing its status as an enduring favorite. It wasn’t a massive hit upon release, but a $51 million box office haul on a $20 million budget was a solid return, while it raked in an additional $17 million on home video in the United States alone.
Set a decade after a plague has transformed most of the human population into vampires, a blood shortage causes some terrifying evolutionary side effects. Ethan Hawke’s hematologist attempts to devise a synthetic substitute, before he crosses paths with a pair of renegade humans that claim to have a cure with the potential to save the world.
Daybreakers landed a nice 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes, too, and there’s plenty to like about a genre-blending mashup that does its best to tackle a formulaic setup with a fresh set of eyes.