DVD REVIEW: ‘Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter’
History prefers legends to men. The greatest President who ever lived: honest, brave, benevolent, strong, and wise indeed.
And he killed vampires. Well, at least according to “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” adapted from Seth Grahame-Smith’s book. All of those significant events in honest Abe’s life are actually tied to the supernatural. The Death of his mother? Vampire. That tree he chopped down? Hatred of a vampire. Freeing the slaves during the Civil War? Sticking it to the vampire slaveholders. The list goes on, but you get the idea. Adding a sense of pseudo-legitimacy, the movie even begins with a Bible quote – Genesis 17:5 for those who are curious.
The story begins with Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) narrating passages from his journal and how the events in his life have shaped him into who he is. Being a father, a husband, and a president are ostensibly only pieces of the truth. Everything flashes back to 1818 – his mother is killed by a vampire, and Lincoln swears revenge on Jack Barts (Martin Csokas), the one responsible for her death.
Before he can take on legions of the undead, however, he must be mentored in the art of slaying them by Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper), a man with a hidden past and perhaps even a dark secret. Lincoln then finds stewardship under Joshua Speed (Jimmi Simpson), courts Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and debates Stephen Douglas (Alan Tudyk) on the moral nature of slavery – yes, the movie goes there.
Lincoln eventually finds his circumstances dogged by head vampire Adam (Rufus Sewell) and his sister Vadoma (Erin Wasson). Only with the help of childhood friend Will Johnson (Anthony Mackie), Joshua, and Henry will the 16th president of the United States overcome the evil forces at hand and hold together a battered union.
“Ham-fisted” is an appropriate term to describe this film. For better or worse, it constantly teeters on the edge of being serious and outright campy. On one hand, plenty of philosophical, multi-layered quips that beg you to take the proceedings seriously are thrown about as if this film is fishing for an Oscar – never mind that Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln biopic comes out in a few weeks.
Howlers include:
“Real power comes not from hate, but from truth.”
“Till every man is free, we are all slaves.”
“History remembers the battle, but forgets the blood.”
On the other hand, this movie knows perfectly well the absurdity of the script, the situations, and some of the characters are only slightly above a Syfy channel flick in quality.
In one particularly humorous scene, Jack Barts picks up a horse by the leg and hurls it at Lincoln in the middle of a stampede. Then Lincoln chases after him by jumping from horseback to horseback not unlike Hugh Jackman’s stunt from the terrible monster mish-mash “Van Helsing.” To top it off, Lincoln’s signature silver-tipped axe even transforms into a makeshift rifle. Good stuff.
Interestingly, rather than performing on par with camp classics, Benjamin Walker opts to portray Lincoln as genuinely as possible. It’s a tough role to play, and Walker is surprisingly effective. He goes from slamming a vampire’s face into a shelf in one scene to delivering a political speech in the town square in the next with confidence and gusto. Whether some will find this refreshing or insulting to Abraham Lincoln’s memory is up for debate, but I certainly didn’t mind since it seemed unforced.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead also keeps her character grounded in reality with an enjoyable and charming performance. The chemistry she and Walker share flows naturally on-screen, and we come to care deeply for the plight of the couple not only in winning the Civil War but in fighting off the blood-sucking villains. Dominic Cooper even manages to gain our sympathies by the time the climax arrives. Altogether, there isn’t an unlikable performance in the bunch.
Though it will never attain superstar st
atus, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” manages to be highly entertaining and varied throughout its runtime, and that’s good enough. Forget the clichéd dialogue and slightly pretentious undertones: go enjoy this one with your friends.
Now available on DVD and Blu-Ray