Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter [DVD]

Movie / Show Details

Amazon.com

Many modern genre movies have developed a worrisome postmodern tic, often rushing to point out their own ridiculousness before the audience even gets a chance to get swept up and taken in. The historical monster mash Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is profoundly silly–even sillier, possibly, than the title suggests–but it conducts itself with an admirably straight face. Seth Grahame-Smith’s script (based on his own novel) finds the Young Mr. Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) set on a path of righteous vengeance after watching his mother get fatally fanged. As he studies the law and woos the ravishing Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) by day, the nights find him throwing down with an unending army of the undead. When he discovers the plot of a master vampire (the excellently dry Rufus Sewell) to conquer the United States, he makes the fateful decision to throw his hat (and silver-bladed ax) into the ring of national politics. Director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, the Night Watch series) brings a wide-eyed fervor to the material, offering tantalizing hints of a larger mythology while also glorying in the wonky kineticism of the plentiful action sequences. (He’s aided in his mission by legendary cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, who gives the images an old-timey View-Master texture.) Scholars of the historical record may well develop the vapors, but for susceptible viewers, the film’s wink-free approach and exceedingly game performers make it frightfully easy to sit back, switch off, and bask in its poker-faced outrageousness. Many movies have had somebody thrown by a horse; this movie has a bad guy pick up a horse and throw it at the hero. Brothers and Sisters, there is a difference. –Andrew Wright

Product Description

From visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted) comes this edgy thriller about the untold story that shaped our nation. Abraham Lincoln, history’s greatest hunter of the undead, must risk the presidency, his family and his life to protect America from bloodthirsty vampires. Thrust into an epic fight against the ruthless killers, Lincoln must rely on those around him. But it’s unclear who he can trust in this visceral, violent and wild ride (JoBlo.com) that’s ablaze with plot twists, blood-pumping action and spectacular special effects!