Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Daybreakers

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Moody vampire cautionary tale is heavy on action/violence.

Movie R 2010 98 minutes
Daybreakers Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 15+

Based on 9 parent reviews

Koji7280
Koji7280 Adult
September 12, 2011
age 18+

Not even for a 15 year old.

Good movie. A twist on the usual vampire movie. This is not a movie for kids. I guess to each their own, but my common sense tells me to not even let a 15 year old to watch this movie.

This title has:

Too much violence
callofduty5
callofduty5 Adult
August 16, 2011
age 15+

omg gory

Wasn't expecting this to be very gory, but maybe i was wrong all other stuff like sex,drugs and language are moderate, but the violence is overwhelming and gory

This title has:

Great role models
Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 9 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the year 2019, the vampire population has exploded, and the few remaining humans are hunted for food. But when the human population runs out, so does the blood. Worse, the vampires have discovered that when they're deprived of blood, they'll mutate into hideous creatures. Vampire Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) works to invent a blood substitute, but when he crashes into a carload of humans, he discovers something even better: a cure. Crossbow-wielding "Elvis" (Willem Dafoe) is the key to this, but unfortunately, his evil, profiteering boss (Sam Neill) would rather make money from the blood substitute and will stop at nothing to prevent Dalton from succeeding.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9 ):
Kids say (12 ):

Though it's possible to relax and go along for the ride, this movie also requires a little bit of forgiveness. It does manage to say a little something about the rampant consumption of Earth's natural resources without seeming too obvious or preachy, but it also ramps up the blood, gore, and violence to an almost ridiculous degree and very often chucks logic out the door in exchange for some thrills.

Directed by the Spierig brothers on the heels of their zombie comedy Undead, DAYBREAKERS establishes a film noir-like mood, with men wearing stylish hats and smoking a great deal -- not to mention the fact that it's perpetually dark. Then, halfway through, the filmmakers successfully manage to switch moods from the grim shadows to a wide-open, sun-baked chase movie with weapons. Though it borrows many of its ideas from older movies, the combination makes them seem fresh.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how this movie compares to other vampire media. Why do you think vampires are so popular? Why do you think some vampire movies, etc. are so much more violent than others?

  • How does the movie address the dwindling of Earth's natural resources? How did the vampires deal with the problem, and how are humans dealing with similar problems right now? What can people do to help?

  • The bad-guy vampire character and his daughter (a human) have very different beliefs. How could they have come to a compromise?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate