Review of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) by Allan C — 25 Jul 2013

Stylishly made action/horror film about, as you surly surmised from the title, is about Abraham Lincoln's secret life as a vampire hunter. While this is a premiss that is gonzo it seems almost foolproof, but director Timur Bekmambetov seems to have missed the joke entirely and tells an unfortunately deadly serious story without any humor or irony.

Movies like this certainly don't have to be silly to find humor. There are plenty of good examples of jet black horror/comedy films such as "I Sell the Dead" or "Trick R Treat" which are both fun and humorous at times but also told with an absolute straight face.

This film has the straight face, but none of the fun or humor which the film's premiss would seem to imply. Instead, you get a fairly straightforward and wildly over directed vampire story set during the days leading up to the civil war.

The film does have it moments here and there, which I suppose makes it worth a look if you're curious, but it's likely not the film that author/screenwriter Seth Grahame Green had envisioned and unfortunately ends up looking too much like the "Wild Wild West.

" Director Bekmambetov showed a lot of promise with his Russian language films "Night Watch" and "Day Watch," and although he is a very good technician of special effects laden action, he has yet to make a good English language film.

I'll still hold out hope though.