Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter *** (2012, Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Marton Csokas) – Movie Review

Was 16th US President Abraham Lincoln a vampire hunter? Of course he wasn’t! Or was he…?

‘It’s just not historical,’ angry critics were shouting and moaning after the press show. Er, that’s right, it’s escapist fantasy, horror action entertainment.

This movie didn’t have too many fans or patrons when it was released in June 2012. A lot of the reaction was along the lines of ‘This is by far the worst movie adaptation I’ve ever seen.’ But if this is the kind of entertainment you like, it’s slick and satisfying, I’d say, both visually and viscerally. Full of wow-inspiring moments, it has you asking ‘how the hell did they do that?’ at regular intervals, while delivering a series of awesome action sequences.

Never has the idea of taking up a secret life as a vampire hunter seemed so attractive! Derek Winnert film critic by day, vampire hunter by night. I’d just never get any sleep in.

So, then credit where it’s due. Credit to producer Tim Burton, director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch), writer Seth Grahame-Smith (adapting his bestseller), stage actor Benjamin Walker (who is perfect as Lincoln), Rufus Sewell (a great villain as vampire chief Adam), visual effects wizard Craig Lyn and Caleb Deschanel (the veteran cinematographer, who produces a stunning-looking movie). A big round of applause for all of them, just in case they never work again after this.

The winning bizarrely nutty notion of mixing the 16th US President with vampires came to the author when he was promoting his book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in America in 2009. The bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth found bookshops stacked with tomes on Lincoln’s life on displays next to vampire novels like Twilight and True Blood. Funny how things turn out.

Having the idea is one thing, but making it work is entirely another. Perhaps the best thing about the story and the movie is that this crazy idea to mix the two subjects is taken totally seriously – and so are the vampires, shown as devastatingly bloodthirsty, devious and frightening. Not at all the girly type of vegetarian vampire we’ve been seeing lately.

The little suckers have integrated themselves into the very fibre of life in 19th-century America, as blacksmiths, pharmacists and bankers. But young Lincoln, bent on revenge for the death of his mother, bitten by local businessman Jack Barts (Marton Csokas), is going to prove a worthy foe and nemesis for these evil undead.

Failing in his first attack on Barts, Abe is rescued by a dandified Englishman called Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper), a vampire hunter, who teaches Lincoln the art of vampire hunting, which involves learning there’s always a need for a contingency plan (a plan B) and a handy way with a huge axe. The eternal battle between good and evil is on.

The whole idea is basically extremely daft and comic, but the fun comes from taking it totally seriously, making the vampires totally ‘real’, and never once letting on to the audience it’s all a joke. And then going full on with it, with a huge ration of explosive thrills, scares and stunts.

You’d think it was a big deal turning Lincoln into a classic comic-book hero, but this movie manages it stylishly and amusingly. Even though you know there’s class-A effort in every department, the effort never shows. It’s all quite seamless. I forgot to mention the 3D. It works a treat.

A big box-office flop, it cost $70 million and recouped only $37 million in the US, so don’t expect a sequel any time soon. But it’s no sillier than the successful Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013), and much better done.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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