Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Starring: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.

Well now, this is an odd mix of politics and vampires, drama and horror…

Action, adventure, gore, and amazing visuals blend to bring us an unforgettable, highly original vampire movie. Why ever did they decide to involve Abraham Lincoln with vampire hunting, I wonder? Benjamin Walker gives a very good performance as Lincoln. He is sincere when he needs to be, and determined and vicious when the occasion calls for it. And then he is a politician as well, which – I suppose – combines both these characteristics.

In ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ Lincoln’s mother dies after being bitten by a vampire. (In real life, his mother in fact did die in 1818 when he was just 9 years old – but she was NOT a vampire victim! In the film and in real life, his parents were Thomas and Nancy). Nine years after his Dad’s death, Lincoln is out to avenge the vampire, Barts, responsible for his Mother’s death. He meets a mysterious vampire hunter, Henry (Dominic Cooper), who teaches him to hunt vampires. During his training, Lincoln is given vampire assassination assignments, and can’t wait for the moment to kill Barts. However, he meets the love of his life, Mary, who unintentionally complicates things for him.

After a fast-paced, action-packed, gore-fest first act, the film becomes much slower paced during the second act, yet – thankfully – remains an interesting watch. The film then picks up again for a thrilling final act. The horse sequence is guaranteed to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen! The final act train ride was also fantastic.

‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ boasts excellent photography and visuals (although maybe a bit too much CGI during the finale). This is unlike any other vampire movie out there and sure to satisfy fans of the genre.

At the box office, the film earned $116.4 million on a $69 million budget.

Would I watch it again? Yes.