Review: "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"

Benjamin Walker as Lincoln

I loved Seth Grahame-Smith's novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter when I read it last year while on vacation in Florida (the only time I get to do any real reading, it seems). I found it smart, funny and very clever, so I was excited to learn that Tim Burton was producing the movie version.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) with a script by Grahame-Smith, the film version is surprisingly different from the novel, but no less enjoyable. It goes without saying that the whole premise is absurd: as a young boy, Lincoln witnesses the death of his mother at the fangs of his father's former employer and vows to get revenge. After the death of his father, Abe (Benjamin Walker) sets out to just that, but encounters a mysterious stranger named Henry (Dominic Cooper) who takes him under his wing, teaches him to fight and gives him a silver-plated axe/rifle with which to destroy vampires. The vampires, led by Adam (Rufus Sewell) and his sister Vadoma (Erin Wasson) are importing slaves for use as food in a plot to make America a vampire nation, thus setting into motion Lincoln's determination to end slavery.

Loaded with lots of flying blood and some excellent action sequences, AL:VH is a terrific-looking movie, shot in gorgeous tones of sepia that help set both the mood and the period. The performances are fine and Walker (best known for his performance in the Broadway musical Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson) plays Lincoln with just the right amount of gravitas, though Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger) seems to be having the most fun. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (The Thing) as Mary Todd Lincoln and Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau) as Abe's childhood friend round out the cast but hardly stand out. And it was good to see vampires portrayed as real monsters, rather than sparkly, angst-ridden teenagers. 

Unfortunately, the movie's biggest problem is its often terrible special effects. The CGI horses in an otherwise exciting stampede sequence look nothing at all like real horses and the truly atrocious age makeup in the film's  latter third is so distracting it took me right out of the movie. My companions (D, Chino and Nikki) all enjoyed it well enough, though they all agreed that the makeup was amateurish, at best. We saw the 2D version, which didn't suffer from the lack of a third dimension at all. **1/2 (Two and a Half out of Four Stars).

More, anon.
Prospero

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Movies I Can't Wait to See

Here we go... hopefully making up for last year's Summer of Suck, there are plenty of movies coming up that have me excited to visit my favorite multiplex.

Needless to say, this weekend sees the much-anticipated The Hunger Games, based on the first of three YA novels by Suzanne Collins about a dystopian North American society some 150 years in the future, in which 2 young people from 12 distinct districts must fight to the death in a wilderness arena. The battle is mandatory television viewing for all of Panem's citizens. The hype surrounding this film is unlike any I can remember and while I do wan to see it, my rehearsal schedule for Hairspray makes it unlikely I'll get to it for a while. I have not read the books, though I want to. My reading habits of late have been deplorable. I will, however, be reviewing a new novel by a regular reader and frequent commenter, soon.

But that's okay. I know I'll see it and read the books, eventually. Still, there are plenty of other films (both large and small) that have piqued my interest this coming season. 

Opening the same weekend as Hairspray (April 13th) is Joss Whedon's much-delayed and highly-anticipated horror movie The Cabin in the Woods, which got caught up in the MGM bankruptcy and is finally getting released by Lionsgate after more than two years. Folks are saying this film may well be a genre changer. I will definitely find time to see this one.

April 27th sees John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe (Father of the Mystery genre) in the serial-killer thriller The Raven. A maniac is copying the murders in Poe's stories and challenges the author to stop him before he kills again.

May 4th brings us another Joss Whedon film: The Avengers, based on the Marvel Comics series and featuring characters previously established in the Marvel movies The Incredible Hulk; Iron Man; Thor and Captain America. While I loved both Iron Man movies and Captain America, I haven't seen Thor or The Incredible Hulk. But I honestly don't think I need to in order to enjoy this movie:

May also brings us Tim Burton's comedic take on Dark Shadows (ick); Peter Berg's board game-inspired Battleship (double ick) and two other films that I actually want to see. 

First is the British comedy Hysteria, about the invention of the vibrator:

And then there's Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black III, in which Will Smith's Agent J travels back in time to meet a younger version of Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) played by a perfectly cast Josh Brolin, who does a spot-on Tommy Lee:

June has four films on my radar. The beautiful Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen and the beautiful Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman have made Snow White and the Huntsman a 'Must See' for Uncle P:

Wow! Then there's Ridley Scott's "Not an Alien prequel" Prometheus (again starring Charlize Theron), which is totally an Alien prequel:

Next is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (based on a very clever novel I actually read on vacation in Florida last spring and highly enjoyed), which posits Lincoln's quest to banish slavery was based on his hatred of the vampires who feed on them:

The same weekend sees Pixar's Brave, a tale about a Scottish princess who defies tradition and sets out on her own adventure:

And the only movie I really care about in July is my semi-annual Birthday Gift from director Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises. The third and final film in Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises looks to be the darkest and grimmest of the three films. Co-starring Anne Hathaway as Selena Kyle/Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane, TDKR may well best The Dark Knight as the best superhero movie ever:

Finally, August features two for me and one for D. First up, Colin Farrell in the reboot of Philip K. Dick's Total Recall. Then there's the animated horror comedy ParaNorman:

And D has made me promise to see The Expendables 2 with him, even though I have yet to see the first one (I see a DVR night at D's in my near future):

There are plenty of other movies I'll probably want to see in the next four or five months, and if I get to see them you'll be sure to have my thoughts on them. 

What movies are you looking forward to seeing this spring and summer?

More, anon.

Prospero

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When Horror Meets Alternative History Fiction

I know I've told you that my reading habits have been less than stellar, of late. I used to read at least two or three novels a month. Now I'm lucky if I get through two or three a year. That makes me sad, because there are tons of novels I am dying to read. But between work, rehearsals, my own personal writing and blogging, I just don't have the time and patience. The only time I get to read is either waiting in doctors' offices or while on vacation at my sister's in Florida.

In fact, the last two novels I read were while on vacation last spring; Joe Hill's "Horns" and Seth Grahame-Smith's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." I enjoyed Hill's "Horns" (Hill is the son of prolific horror novelist Stephen King) but I loved Grahame-Smith's alternative history tale even more. Combining actual people and events from the era with traditional vampire lore, Grahame-Smith wrote a fascinating and highly entertaining tale that returns vampires to their monstrous status (F*ck You, Stephanie Meyer) and creates an even more heroic portrait of the Man from Illinois. And unlike Grahame-Smith's previous novel "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," which built upon existing fiction, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a totally original tale. Also unlike "P&P&Z," "AL:VH" has actually been adapted for the screen.

Produced by Tim Burton and directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), the movie is scheduled for release this coming June. Starring relative newcomer Benjamin Walker (Kinsey; The Notorious Bettie Page); Mary Elizabeth Winstead (The Thing; Scott Pilgrim vs the World); Dominic Cooper (Captain America; The Devil's Double); Alan Tudyk ("Dollhouse;"  "Suburgatory") and Rufus Sewell (Dark City), Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has the potential to be one of the coming summer's huge hits. I, for one, can't wait to to see it.

Here's the movie's official trailer:



And here's the book's trailer:



Hopefully, this will be the film that returns the Horror to the vampire genre.

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter; Tim Burton / Alan Tudyk; Novels / Horror / Movies / Seth Grahame-Smith / Trailers / Vampires with the title Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter; Tim Burton. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2012/02/when-horror-meets-alternative-history.html. Thanks!