First, it’s a mid-budget movie, and Hollywood doesn’t make much of those nowadays.
Secondly, it commits to a wild premise: vampires become the dominant life form in the world. It’s fun, but the actors play it straight. If the tried to do that now, it’d be full of quips and winking at the audience rather than committing to the bit.
I just found it by chance a couple years ago, and its entered regular Halloween rotation. It’s also a very silly movie at times, but it has something to say. If it weren’t played straight, it would undercut the whole thing.
I can’t help but imagine that, if they tried to make it today, it’d just be noted to death by the studio. “Say less, quip more.” Then you’d get a ho-hum vampire action-comedy with a whiff that it was something better in a previous draft… like Renfield.
I do think the problem is rooted in Joss Whedon, or rather, movie studios looking at Avengers and thinking, “This, all the time.” People got tired of Joss Whedon himself (among other problems with him), much less more corporate, soulless imitations.
Joss Whedon’s jokes were fine, because they were a fresh and funny take on an otherwise overly-serious and humdrum Superhero genre. His writing was game changing.
The issue was that it was overused so much by every subsequent film after Guardians of the Galaxy that it became an eye-rolling trope of Marvel films.
Daybreakers.
First, it’s a mid-budget movie, and Hollywood doesn’t make much of those nowadays.
Secondly, it commits to a wild premise: vampires become the dominant life form in the world. It’s fun, but the actors play it straight. If the tried to do that now, it’d be full of quips and winking at the audience rather than committing to the bit.
I love this movie so much. Thoughtful and entertaining. Also good critique on society, capitalism, and the consequences of things like overfishing.
I just found it by chance a couple years ago, and its entered regular Halloween rotation. It’s also a very silly movie at times, but it has something to say. If it weren’t played straight, it would undercut the whole thing.
I can’t help but imagine that, if they tried to make it today, it’d just be noted to death by the studio. “Say less, quip more.” Then you’d get a ho-hum vampire action-comedy with a whiff that it was something better in a previous draft… like Renfield.
“Have you tried a shwarma? Let’s get a shwarma you dinklemuffin.”
*rapturous applause, 5 star reviews*
I do think the problem is rooted in Joss Whedon, or rather, movie studios looking at Avengers and thinking, “This, all the time.” People got tired of Joss Whedon himself (among other problems with him), much less more corporate, soulless imitations.
Joss Whedon’s jokes were fine, because they were a fresh and funny take on an otherwise overly-serious and humdrum Superhero genre. His writing was game changing.
The issue was that it was overused so much by every subsequent film after Guardians of the Galaxy that it became an eye-rolling trope of Marvel films.