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Spierig Bros tackle a sweet sounding vampire flick called DAYBREAKERS with Weta in tow!!!

Published at:  May 23, 2006 3:25:15 AM CDT

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with news on Lionsgate's DAYBREAKERS, which is being developed by the Spierig Bros. I'm not the world's biggest fan of their break-out flick, UNDEAD, but it's obvious a huge amount of passion, sweat, tears, blood and spit went into it. Check out this description of DAYBREAKERS, though:



Ten years into the future, the world is populated by vampires and only 5% of the population remains human, an endangered species being farmed and harvested for their blood. The vampires are now in a desperate battle for survival with dwindling human reserves. Two “blood” brothers, Frankie Dalton, a fervent human hunter and member of the vampire army, and his brother Ed Dalton, a vampire scientist who mourns his lost humanity and is part of the underground movement to save humans, face off in a deadly struggle that will determine whether humans or vampires will ultimately survive.



Sounds pretty killer, doesn't it? And add on to that that Weta Workshop is doing the vampire effects and you got one excited genre fanboy here. Speaking of Weta Vampires, I'm also hearing word now that Weta isn't doing 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. I'm working on confirming that right now, but at least we'll get one guaranteed Weta Vampire outting!!! What do you folks think?





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    Readers Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 3:29:18 AM CDT

    That description sounds cool.

    by leckomaniac

    Could be quite interesting. Glad to hear the WETA is involved. Any word on what the budget is going to be?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 3:37:51 AM CDT

    Sounds okay I guess...But Weta should focus on EVA

    by hyperknight

    I want my Evangelion movie now damn it!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 3:55:21 AM CDT

    I read that as Spielberg

    by bigtime_charly

    Do we really need another "vampire wars" movie? What's left to be said?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 4:12:55 AM CDT

    Okay, time to quite with the postmodernism

    by laserbrain

    I want to be scared by Vampires again. I don't want to know about their earthly problems, I don't want to get inside their heads and I don't want to feel their immortal pain. I don't want their vampirism rationalized into a disease. I don't want to know what their apartments look like or what clubs they go to. And I sure as shit don't want to know what causes they are interested in. I just want them to be frightening. Can we get back to that sometime?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 4:17:34 AM CDT

    Val Guest

    by pammybabe

    This sounds a bit close to the 'I am Legend Story'. On another note, anyone read of the sad news of the death off Val Guest? This probably won't be a name familiar to most Americans (or even a lot of Britons) but he had a long and very varied career and both director and screen writer. He directed the seminal sci-fi thrillers "The Quatermass Xperriment" and "The Day the Earth Caught Fire". He also co-directed "Casino Royal" which did have it's moments despite the fact (at least in my opinion) it was a failure overall. Some of his later output was not so glorious included the awful Canon and Ball spin off "The Boys in Blue" and "Confessions of a Window Cleaner" but I think he made a major mark on cinema in Britain. RIP Val Guest.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 4:18:49 AM CDT

    I agree...

    by stalfos

    Vampires should be scarier. I never understood why vampirism makes you hyper-sexual, either.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 4:29:10 AM CDT

    You're right about WETA

    by latauro

    I made an error in last week's AICN-Downunder; Weta is not doing the 30 Days Of Night FX. Apparently, they never were to begin with. I'll be printing a retraction in the next column, though it might be a little redundant now. Oh, and curse you for getting that Spierig Brothers news before I did! Now I'm going to have to dig to find out something even cooler before next week...

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 4:37:40 AM CDT

    I wish them well, but Undead sucked completely

    by quantize

    Made on a shoestring by two determined brothers from australia...but a ridiculous and unfunny predicatble bad ending..i was really surprised Undead got the release in the US it did..which I put down to more a market hungry for decent genre films. Personally i think if they can pull a budget for this, then just about anybody can make films like this..coz undead really was extremely amateur despite some slightly ok fx

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 6:46:01 AM CDT

    Undead was HORRIBLE!!

    by theoneofblood

    I don't have high hopes for this next project at all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 7:16:52 AM CDT

    Sounds like what Guillermo del Toro

    by godoffireinhell

    had planned for BLADE 3 when he was still attached to direct it. Basically, Blade would have fought the vamps and freeds the humans from the concentration camps where they were farmed for blood. It may have been better than the film we ultimately got. It's also good to hear that there will be another post-apocalyptic vampire flick now that the Fresh Price of Bel Air will assrape I AM LEGEND.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 8:06:20 AM CDT

    LaserBrain is my new personal god!

    by doctor_sin

    I am sick and fucking tired of all the post-Anne Rice 'Goth-kids-like-vampires-so-we-must-depict-them-in-social-settings' crap. Please, for the love of all that is right - someone make a vampire movie without the token 'vampire who likes people' or without the rave clubs or without the 'vampires are victims, too' schtick. PLEASE! Make a fucking scary vampire movie again! Vampires are so unbelievably wimpy nowadays. They are the netherworld's metrosexuals.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 8:15:14 AM CDT

    I'd rather see "A Midnight Opera" made into a movie.

    by anna valerious

    It's a manga by German artist Hanzo Steinbach. It's sibling rivalry, only one of the brothers is a werewolf instead of a vamp. http://tinyurl.com/qb5cx However, I really hope that Hanzo will stop putting Catholics in a bad light with the next few installments. I happen to be a practicing one and a lot of us aren't out to condemn those who are different.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 8:25:30 AM CDT

    You would also like to see VAN HELSING 2

    by godoffireinhell

    so you have questionable taste to say the least.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 8:42:14 AM CDT

    This sounds kinda interesting

    by monkey butler

    I agree it sucks that the goth/emo crowd has taken hold of Vampire imagery, but that doesn't mean that this film doesn't sound interesting. I mean, this is teh unspoken consequence of any vampire story - if vampires kill or turn all the humans, who do they feed on? I think it's pretty interesting. And as for Undead - it's an Aussie film, and although it's mediocre, it'll seem even worse if you don't 'get' that sort of humour.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 8:46:15 AM CDT

    Zing! Ouch! VH2? No way.

    by brycemonkey

    I love Vampire flicks so it's all good. Which is worse, Van Helsing or Ultraviolet? Discuss. Personally I think VH is the bigger travesty due to the amount spent, hype, etc that got put into an obviously very bad movie...

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 10:26:00 AM CDT

    No more vampires at raves or holding golbets

    by big bad clone

    I I wouldn't mind seeing vamps driven crazy by the need to feed on blood before dawn breaks. Frankly, I like how vampires are taken in all sorts of directions. I'm ready for a new direction as the S&M vamps has grwon boring.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 10:35:55 AM CDT

    I agree Big Bad...

    by brycemonkey

    I think part of the appeal is the different takes on the Vampire genre. You seem to be able to take them in more directions than most other 'monsters'. You can make em like zombies (John Carpenter), badass clubbers (Blade) or regular(ish) people. Did you ever see the 90's UK TV series Ultraviolet? It's very cool and probably my favorite vampire world.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 10:47:43 AM CDT

    Dude, it says no personal attacks.

    by anna valerious

    And besides, "Ultraviolet" and "Bloodrayne" looked like shyte. But I think if you read more history, literature and folklore, you'd prolly get VH and "A Midnight Opera". With that, I'm outta here.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 10:51:47 AM CDT

    Is Ultraviolent available stateside?

    by big bad clone

    Not the shitty movie by that Equilibrium guy (never understood how emotions were outlawed in the future but the enforcers are always yelling and snearing at everyone). ----- Wasn't there a story or short about a guy who's parasite slacker was actually a vampire whow as feeding off him at night? I always liked that idea.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 11:44:23 AM CDT

    Undead was funny as hell...

    by childe roland

    ...in a very self-aware D-movie kinds of way. I enjoyed it on that level. The brief description above doesn't make this sound like a story that will lend itself to the artistic sensibilities displayed by these guys thus far. Without the humor, which there doesn't seem to be a lot of room for in this, I fear they'll just pump out some melodramatic schlock. But we'll see. As for sexy vampires, stalfos, the exchange of bodily fluids is inherently sexual and intrinsic to the nature of vampirism. There's a reason the mouth not only serves as your primary blow and eatin' hole. It's also a sex organ, and the act of sucking on anything that's still alive is usually going to provide that something with some degree of gratification (voluntary or involuntary...it's a friction + lubrication = stimulation situation). The fact that vampires must bite and suck on (usually the most tender and sensitive) parts of their still-living victims for sustenance makes their very existence inherently sexual in a sado-masochistic sort of way.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 11:55:58 AM CDT

    Hmmm

    by halloween68

    I think you guys posted this a year ago when UNDEAD was still in theatre. Still sounds cool though. Only I guess I'm more excited about it now, because I've seen and I've really enjoyed UNDEAD. It's one of those films that gets better every time you see it. Sure, it's cheesy as hell, and it's by far, not perfect... But it's still a heck of a good time if you just sit back and go along for the ride. The filmmakers obviously had a good time making it. Because of that, I am reminded of another famous kiwis first official film, BAD TASTE, every time I watch it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 11:57:12 AM CDT

    Lord, more whiny vampires...

    by blue_demon

    God I miss scary vampires. Long, white faces with red eyes, claws, fetid breath & all that. Now we have...Lestat. Oh, and as far as the sexual response to vampires, I agree Childe Roland, there seems to be an unwritten rule that female vampires have some sort of sexual power ( probably goes back to that whole succubus thing ) and Stoker wrote about it as well ( the three brides that attack Harker. ) But still...one's fate after being bitten by said hotties is worse than death, so...gimme scary vampires.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 12:30:38 PM CDT

    I would think humans would be easy to breed...

    by excaliburffolkes

    ...in captivity.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 12:35:09 PM CDT

    Come to think of it, how come vampires only ever...

    by excaliburffolkes

    ...go after humans instead of hunting other large land animals? A cow or a horse or a water buffalo has way more blood than a human does.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 12:41:14 PM CDT

    Ultraviolet in the US of A...

    by brycemonkey

    I'm pretty sure it aired on some of the lesser channels and is available on dvd. Nice little mini-series pack (although I got mine from play.com in the UK). Shame they only made one series although they did kinda go from zero to conclusion in those eps.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 12:43:15 PM CDT

    Excalibur...

    by brycemonkey

    So you'd rather suck on a water buffalo than a heaving chested virgin hottie? Whatever floats your boat :-P

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 12:47:44 PM CDT

    ...Excalibur Ffolkes

    by ray garraty #47

    ...cartoonist Scott Kurtz made that same point when the Matrix sequels came out. Why did the computers need to feed on human energy and create the matrix when they could have just used other animals instead? (His punchline was that it could have been called the Mootrix.) On another related note, not all vampires know karate, shop at Hot Topic, like to dance to techno. Kudos to above posters who mentioned same.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 12:58:06 PM CDT

    Brycemonkey, given the choice, no, but people...

    by excaliburffolkes

    ...apparently are rather scarce at the time of this story. When the options are between sucking on a water buffalo or starvation, the water buffalo suddenly becomes a more palatable option. Also, I didn't know if maybe there was something in vampire lore that said they could only live on human blood.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 1:40:11 PM CDT

    Isn't that the same premise as I am Legend?

    by phanboi

    And the Bros. can go fuck themselves ... Daybreak was a friggin mess. I have done better movies with my Nokia videophone. Lamers!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:04:19 PM CDT

    Traditionally vampires have been depicted as...

    by childe roland

    ...thirsting for blood in general. Across the mythological medium you can find instances of lower level vampires sucking the life force from insects (Renfield in the original Dracula and pig's blood for the far more recent and less faithful Angel, just to name two opposite ends of the spectrum). The reasoning for human vicitms being the preferred cuisine is manifold. For one, vampire lore began as many scary stories do - a way to curb potentially dangerous and unwanted behavior. It's far scarier to a child, whom you might not want roaming the village at night, to tell them a vampire will suck their blood than that a vampire might descend on the family chicken coop. Then there's the whole "you are what you eat" mentality, which speaks to a vampire's motives. The ancient Celts, for instance, believed that if you consumed the heart or blood of a bear or stag after a hunt, you would imbue yourself with the qualities of that beast (speed or strength). A vampire is a former human attempting to unnaturally preserve a semblance of human life. Best way to do that seems to be by devouring the blood of a current human...preferably a young and vital one. Then there's the whole sexual undertone thing. Doesn't have as much universal appeal if the vampires are seducing sheep. And, finally, there's the matter of simple taste. It's pretty commonly understood that the reason many religions frown upon the eating of pork is because its consistency is so similar to that of human flesh. Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good. But a vampire would prefer not to drink pig blood, perhaps because a pig is a filthy animal that roots and eats its own shit (which might explain the sweet taste of the meat). People who havve tasted human flesh don't compare it to chicken (like most folks do everything else). They compare it to pork. So maybe vampires just like the juice of the sweetest meat that doesn't run on four legs.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:06:15 PM CDT

    It's all good Excalibur..

    by brycemonkey

    I was just being funny with ya. The cool thing about vampires is you can stick broadly within the guidelines and make your own story. (Rice wrote that they could drink animal blood but much prefered human. Also they couldn't eat/drink anything else). I like the 'hunger' aspect of it. Driving you to do stuff you normally wouldn't and becoming a monster out of (selfish) necessity...

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:06:55 PM CDT

    I should probably mention...

    by childe roland

    ...that some of the Celts I referred to above also believed one could gain the strength of a vanquished opponent on the battlefield by drinking his blood. Most modern Celts prefer to derive their liquid strength from Guinness, however.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:08:52 PM CDT

    Kudos Childe...

    by brycemonkey

    I'll have a double helping of the other, other white meat ;-)

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:30:32 PM CDT

    Make sure you chase it...

    by childe roland

    ...with a Guinness, brycemonkey. Wasn't there an Irish vampire in the Preacher comics? Come to think of it, wasn't Angel Irish? Maybe there's a reason my brothers and I all have the dark hair and pale skin...aside from the fact we spent most of our lives in our mother's basement, I mean. ;)

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:44:59 PM CDT

    Don't talk about drinking Guinness...

    by ray garraty #47

    ...while I'm at work. I just got thirst pains.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:53:50 PM CDT

    Interesting, just as I AM LEGEND gets new life...

    by roguewriter

    ... that the UNDEAD Aussies come up with a similar tale. What the hell -- I'm always game for a good post-apocalypse horror tale, and this sounds enjoyably apocalypsy...

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 2:59:15 PM CDT

    Childe Roland, that's some thought-provoking insight...

    by roguewriter

    Kudos, sir. You got the brain-box humming midday. At work, no less. That doesn't often happen.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 3:31:30 PM CDT

    Thanks Roguewriter...

    by childe roland

    ...I usually expend very little mental energy on my actual work, so it frees up a lot of RAM for thinking about vampires and beer. If only this energy could be harnessed for something remotely useful...

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 3:44:51 PM CDT

    Man, now I can't stop thinking about beer and food!

    by brycemonkey

    I'm at work with a deadline and all I want is a bucketfull of cold beer and some roast long-pig... Thank you very much!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 3:48:34 PM CDT

    And now you know the all-consuming...

    by childe roland

    ...lust that afflicts the vampire, night and...well...mostly just night. My work here is done. ;)

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 3:57:59 PM CDT

    Mmmmm... long-pig...

    by roguewriter

    You put in a request for that at one of the local BBQ joints down here in Bama, and they just stare at you with the wall-eye, sucking their one tooth in confusion... Redneck countermen... no sense of humor.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 4:04:45 PM CDT

    Sounds cool.

    by neo zeed

    The premise? Vampires + Apocalypse= intriged for me. I'm simple like that. Now all it has to do is be 1.R-rated and 2.not suck.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 4:51:35 PM CDT

    Anybody read the book "Under The Fang?"

    by blue_demon

    It's an anthology and has some great stories about the earth under vampire rule.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 5:05:17 PM CDT

    Another tip of the hat to UNDER THE FANG...

    by roguewriter

    Forgot about that one. In an era where I'm utterly sick of vampire novels, I truly enjoyed that anthology of short stuff. Fresh, engaging, and never tiresome. Worth digging up on Amazon.com or wherever...

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 6:01:27 PM CDT

    Hear hear Laserbrain

    by mr inbetween

    I agree 100%. When the pendulum swung away from vampire stories depicting the monsters "as other" it was cool, and different, but I too am ready for the pendulum to swing back. I want to be scared of vampires too. I don't want to sympathize or understand. I want to fear them, anxiously want them dead, and when they are dead I want to fear they really aren't. I don't want parables about being gay or having a disease or dressing like a goth. I want the gay guys and sickies and goths on my side as we hunt the undead bastards down and kill them, before they kill us.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 6:07:59 PM CDT

    Reading this plot summary.......

    by jimmy jazz

    reminded me of the time I read the first blurbs about Underworld: "Cool! Vampires and Werewoves! At War! How can comeone fuck that up?" Now we know. So I am not exactly pissing myself in anticipation for this, no matter how interesting it sounds on paper. As for the whiny pussified vampires, I think that the Zombie has usurped the Vampire as modern fiction's primal "tear your throat out" scare generator. THanks to the not inconsiderable influence of Anne Rice, Vampires are more generally thought of as Anti-Heroes rather than creatures of horror. Now that Anne Rice has gone on a religious kick and her fanboys (and girls) are getting older and taking off their black mascara, I wonder if the old-style Nosferatu bloodsucker will reemerge.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 9:15:21 PM CDT

    Just Make Soul Reaver: The Movie

    by retroactive

    Legacy of Kain, baby! Now, that's a vampire story worth telling! Movie starts with Daddy Kain killing son...son ressurected by underworld God to destroy daddy. Sounds like a Christmas release to me!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 23, 2006 10:44:54 PM CDT

    Sick of Goth Vampires?

    by regenhund

    Anybody remember the cowboy bloodsuckers of Near Dark? Driving from town to town in a motor home with blacked out windows. That movie was one of the most original takes I've ever seen. And it had half the cast of Aliens in it. And yeah, I'll jump on the laserbrain bandwagon.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 24, 2006 12:03:12 AM CDT

    Undead was fun

    by voxmortis

    Stop hating it, haters. A true indie film. Sure the acting was pants, and the story was fan-boy onanism... but I liked it. And there's no I in team, but there's an I in meat pie... (damn, wrong film)

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 24, 2006 8:57:22 AM CDT

    Yeah the van in Near Dark...

    by brycemonkey

    There's a similar one that drives around my neighborhood selling "candy". I've never ventured out into the night to check it out, but at least I'm alive to talk about it. Creepy shit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 24, 2006 1:38:46 PM CDT

    who`s WETA?

    by chien_sale

  • May 24, 2006 3:24:57 PM CDT

    I enjoyed Near Dark

    by mr inbetween

    Near as I can recall...what I remember best is all the white hot beams of sunlight coming through bullet holes in walls like a hundred little spotlights.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 23, 2007 8:26:49 PM CDT

    First AND Only!

    by jeshakeoma

    Now that this film is actually in production, is there any news, cool or otherwise? Is WETA still doing the FX? Are you still one excited genre fanboy? Just 'cause this post is a more than a year old doesn't mean people aren't paying attention.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 15, 2010 4:43:32 AM CST

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    by tmveqk

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    Reply to Talkback

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    by tmveqk

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