Review of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) by Ilhm — 10 Mar 2013

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal... But they never said anything about vampires.

.. Years before he set off to become one of our nation's greatest leaders, Abraham Lincoln stalked the night in search of the bloodthirsty vampire that took his mother's life. After discovering the dark secret that connects the slave trade to the vampires' food source, Lincoln trades in his axe for a prominent position in politics, where his words serve as a far greater weapon against his undead adversaries.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER brings Seth Grahame-Smith's historic monster mash-up to the screen in a big way, with all of the overblown action sequences and wild special effects that make for fun, over-the-top summer blockbuster.

While the deadpan humor may turn off many audience members that were expecting a parody or spoof, what makes it so oddly entertaining is that it isn't a comedy. It is played perfectly straight to the point of absurdity, earning big laughs along the way as Abe twirls his axe with deadly proficiency and carries himself like the Civil War's "Rambo.

" A finer actor couldn't have been chosen over Benjamin Walker, who puts in an excellent performance as the President. The vicious vampires are just as dark as the humor as well, although Rufus Sewell does not present a memorable villain as their leader, Adam.

The main issue with the film lies in the aforementioned action sequences, which become far too grandiose for a period piece of this kind. What worked perfectly well in Timur Bekmambetov's earlier films, NIGHT WATCH and DAY WATCH, reduces the imagery on screen to an over-stylized sense of cartoon violence, where a subtler approach would have benefited the character greatly.

Still, there is plenty to enjoy in the unwritten history of old Honest Abe.