For lovers of vampire movies, this is the perfect antidote to the sickly romanticisation of vampires in Twilight.

It's 2019 and most of the world's population has become vampires because of a pandemic disease.

As human numbers decline the need for blood becomes desperate.

The first few minutes of Daybreakers are nifty in setting up the world and the dire situation it faces with little exposition and no dialogue.

Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a scientist working on a synthetic blood substitute for a capitalist pharmaceutical company ruled by Charles Bromley (Sam Neill).

But everything changes when Edward meets a band of human survivors who hold the key to a cure for vampirism.

Filmed at Movieworld on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane by an Australian crew and cast, other than Hawke and Willem Dafoe, this movie proves yet again that Aussies can make great and enjoyable movies.

Hawke's low-key performance matches his character to a tee: a tortured soul who wants to save the human race.

Dafoe masterly creates Elvis Cormac, the crossbow-wielding ex-vampire a wild, whack-job, redneck character who rarely speaks in coherent sentences.

The supporting cast, including Vince Colosimo, Claudia Karvan and Isabel Lucas, are also top-notch.

Not thrilling enough to be a thriller, not horrifying enough to be a horror, this sleek vampire movie puts a spin on the whole vampire genre which is more than refreshing.

It is an interesting mix of social and political commentary with the blood and gore.

But if you want a movie where the vampires are vampires and don't just sparkle in the sun, this one is for you.