Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a documentary jointly produced by The History Channel and PBS that uncovers a darker and grittier side of the Lincoln presidency. Based on material written in a recently discovered diary that belonged to Lincoln, the film painstakingly reconstructs this newfound perspective about one of the most beloved presidents in American history by showing us what being a vampire hunter was like back in prehistoric times. It also harnesses the power of modern computers to simulate how vampire combat is thought to have looked back then, particularly during the Battle at Gettysburg and one part where Lincoln totally murders a guy with his axe.
Generally, this movie is not ashamed to be exactly what you’d expect it to be: Abe Lincoln kills vampires because Abe Lincoln is a BMF. It could be a spoof on this insistent Internet argument that Hollywood is out of ideas and will make anything that might bring in a buck, especially if it’s cheap. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it looks like a PBS documentary with comically cheap CGI battles and conspicuously foggy sets. Another problem is with color correction and its heavy abuse; I don’t think there is a single scene that uses a natural color and the majority of the film’s color is snuffed out via a sepia filter. It’s supposed to evoke this feeling that we’re in Civil War days before black & white cameras I guess.
I liked Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s performance a lot. There’s a scene where Abraham confesses to Mary Todd that he is a vampire slayer and her reaction is adorable. The vampire combat sequences were cool but relied too heavily on that 300 thing where time slows just before or after a strike connects to show off blood splatters or Abe’s manliness. The worst thing though? The film isn’t all that interesting and kind of fumbles around until Lincoln “grows the beard.”
ThomFiles 