If it had been a documentary titled ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’, it might have been intriging, but what made this genre-bending horror flick intriguing was the trailer. After all, that’s exactly what a trailer is supposed to do- and like so many trailers do, this one oversold the quality of the movie. There’s really no need to get into great detail about ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’s’ plot: Everything you need to know is in the title, though some details about Lincoln’s life have been changed. For instance, he loses his mother at a young age when she’s killed by a vampire and he sees the whole thing, creating his thirst for vampire-killing vengeance. Also, Broadway star Benjamin Walker is a considerably better-looking Lincoln than the 16th American president, and producers do very little to change that. Same goes for Mary Todd Lincoln, who has never been depicted as a beauty yet is exceptionally attractive here. One would think that a film with a silly title would be, at the very least, funny. ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ is not. Even so, its not to say that every moment is a wash. There is a sense of artistry in the production design, as well as stand-out performances by Rufus Sewell as vampire leader Adam and Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturgess, Honest Hunter Abe’s mentor. However, none of it is enough to make us forget the ridiculous premise. Done with a little less style and a little more soul and humour, ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ might have at least been interesting.
Rating: One-and-half out
of five stars.
