Movie review of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

With so many big blockbusters coming out this summer, especially the super hero genre such as Avengers, Spider Man and Batman, who would have thought that a movie about Abraham Lincoln vs Vampires would surface?

I actually thought it was a comedic spoof of some sort. How can the former US president take on vampires? Well, that’s the crazy premise that we have been presented with by the director Timur Bekmambetov.

I must admit from what I have seen from the the trailer has intrigued me further, and seems to me to be a great kick-ass kind of movie. Anyway, “Abe Lincoln the vampire slayer” is already showing in the cinemas, so below is the full review:

The man who cried vampires

By Gayathri Nair

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (3D)

Starring: Benjamin Walker, Alan Tudyk, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie, Jaqueline Fleming, Robin McLeavy

It wasn't Abe Lincoln who chopped down trees and couldn't tell a lie, but it was Abe Lincoln who chopped off heads of several vampires and couldn't conceal such a lie.

A very stylish creation by the genius minds of Timur Bekmambetov and co-producer Tim Burton, this is a movie based on a novel of the same title by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote the screenplay of this war-horror-fantasy-action movie that tells the story of real life figure Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States who possessed a secret identity as a vampire hunter.

I'm still not sure how I feel about seeing the former President of the United States of America holding an axe and fighting blood sucking monsters. I will still admit though, it indeed was a very clever play bringing the existence of vampires into one of history's most finest and memorable achievements.

The fun in it all is to see what sort of roles vampires take throughout the different movies that have been made thus far. This obviously is no Twilight or Underworld but what sets Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter apart from other vampire movies is how they have been fitted into re-telling an event in history that shook the world during that era.

Vampires in the civil war? How could they make that work? Surprisingly, it did and in a rather thrilling way too. There were no delays in the movie and everything takes off in a timely manner. There's really nothing to yawn about in this movie.

The story starts off with Abe's childhood where he comes face to face with a monster in every sense. The murder of his mother leads Abe to vow vengeance but in his quest he learns that evil comes in different forms and there is more to this evil than meets the eye.

From his top hat right down to his iconic beard, Abraham Lincoln is brilliantly played by the fairly unknown Benjamin Walker, who brings this historic figure to life rather well and effortlessly earning his character, who has been told he will have no life except that of a hunter, sympathy and compassion.

When Abe Lincoln swings his mighty axe...

 Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays Mary Todd, Abe’s wife, delivers enough to make the chemistry between Walker and herself flow smoothly. Then there's Henry Sturges, Abe's mentor, played by Dominic Cooper who along with Walker creates attractive fight scenes resulting in some of the best action scenes throughout the movie.

The wardrobe and make up for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is also something to awe about. In some parts, the movie reminded me a lot of Sleepy Hollow. Of course with Tim Burton involved in the production, it certainly is no surprise.

Injecting the existence of vampires, adding mystery and suspense and covering that with actual historical facts and events, makes this one of the better movies coming out of a Hollywood that has done way too many sequels and re-boots. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is rather refreshing. Not strictly horror, this movie is more fantasy, but with real historical events thrown in, you won’t be blamed if you were, for a second, fooled to think this is what truly happened in the 1800s.