Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ~ Based on the novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote the screenplay, this mash-up of the horror and historical genres is a lot better than it has a right to be, and yet, it should have been, and could have been a lot better.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a pretty good vampire slayer flick, and a half-decent horror flick. It tries very hard, sometimes almost desperately to make the historical part fit, and actually makes some pretty rational points about the philosophy of slavery throughout the history of mankind, and in the mind of man himself.

The problem is that the initial premise of the film, hell, the source material itself, is just ridiculous. Think about it. The idea that our celebrated sixteenth President had a secret identity hunting and killing vampires is just ludicrous - and it's played straight, deadly straight. What's missing is a sense of humor. Just a bit of whimsy or even a wink at the audience would go a long, long way toward improving this flick.

The movie is well done, as I said, and the fight scenes are pretty cool. The final train fight and the earlier stampede chase is especially dynamic. Benjamin Walker is excellent, and darned earnest, as the President, and I look forward to seeing him in other stuff. Turn your brain off, and just enjoy, and it's not a bad movie at all.