Abraham Lincoln:
Vampire Hunter - (June 22nd, 2012): R
Distributor: 20th
Century Fox
Opening Weekend Box Office:
#3 with $16,306,974
Domestic Box Office
Gross to-date: $23,034,193
Gross Revenue: $30,834,193
Production Budget:
$69 million
Directors: Timur Bekmambetov
As I mentioned in the “Short and
Sweet” review, I sought out thoroughly enjoyed the source novel for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter; so,
when you add that reverence to my fandom of the Marvel Comics character Blade,
my hatred of the Twilight series, and
my fanaticism concerning the cult series Buffy
the Vampire Slayer, I was pretty excited for this newest summer film. Only adding to my expectations was the
involvement of Tim Burton the director Timur Bekmambetov, the latter of whom
wowed audiences and earned my loyalty for life with his work on 2008’s Wanted, thereby setting the bar very
high for the action sequences that were sure to saturate his newest project. Still, I do acknowledge that my fandom and
immediate acceptance of this type of this film is shared only by a very
specific demographic, making the failure of 20th Century Fox’s
marketing campaign to educate potential audiences a signal of potential box
office suicide. Not one marketing promotion
identified the fact that Abraham Lincoln:
Vampire Hunter was based on a book, so when that shortcoming combines with
a thoroughly awful tagline (“Are you a patriot or a vampire?”), it is
ridiculously difficult to come across as a movie that should be taken
seriously. Everyone thought that
Hollywood was simply perverting a historical character with no basis, and based
on the social media landscape, there wasn’t a huge effort to reverse that
opinion; Chris Rock even tweeted his desire to follow the perceived trend and
pursue a project dubbed “Martin Luther King: Ninja Warrior.” Simply put, there was little guarantee that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter would be
a success, but that wasn’t going to stop me from sitting back and enjoying the
film.
Challenging whatever you think you
may know about American history, Abraham
Lincoln: Vampire Hunter posits that the 16th President of the
United States actually held a secret identity as a vampire killer battling the
forces of darkness in the New World. The
film opens in 1818, with young Abraham Lincoln and his parents working on a
plantation owned by Jack Barts (Marton Csokas); when Abraham’s father defaults
on a loan, Barts enacts punishment my poisoning and killing Abraham’s
mother. Fast forward nine years and
Abraham (Benjamin Walker) attacks Barts, intent on revenge, but he soon
discovers that Barts is actually a vampire; Lincoln is rescued by the
mysterious Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper), a vampire himself who educates
Abraham concerning the existence of vampires and offers to train him as a vampire
hunter. After years of training, Abraham
begins targeting vampires in Illinois with Henry’s guidance, working with local
shopkeeper Joshua Speed (Jimmi Simpson) and childhood friend William Johnson
(Anthony Mackie); all the while building a relationship with Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead). Unfortunately, Lincoln’s activities
soon attract the attention of vampire siblings Adam (Rufus Sewell) and Vadoma
(Erin Wasson), wealthy and powerful landowners who perpetuate slavery as an
easy source of food and desire to create a nation of the undead. Realizing that slavery acts as an even greater
evil due to its support of mass murder in order to satiate vampires, Abraham
resolves to start his political career and abolish slavery, leading to both his
presidency and The Civil War, both of which are directly influenced and haunted
by the hunter’s violent past.
Based on the incessant trailers
featuring Benjamin Walker twirling an axe with masterful skill, the violent
depictions of vampire killings in the original book, and the action pedigree of
director Timur Bekmambetov, there was no way that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter would be allowed to NOT feature
some truly awesome fight sequences.
Luckily, the film more than delivered, and the stylish and energetic
choreography easily represents the strongest accolade; Abraham’s first encounter
with Adam may represent one of the coolest group battle sequences I have seen
in years. When that type of action
combines with the notably dark and stylish cinematography and visual style, the
impressive horror special effects, and the added sharpness of 3D, audiences are
left with an exciting popcorn flick. In
terms of the acting, while I would have loved to have seen more of Rufus Sewell
and Erin Wasson as the unnerving villains, the focus on Benjamin Walker was not
wasted, as the young actor ably embodies his character through several stages
of life. Sadly, each of the accolades
identified above takes a while to kick-in, and if you didn’t walk in the
theater already accepting the strange premise, chances are that you would lose
interest pretty quickly.
Because the vampires featured in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter aren’t
sparkling or full of angst and in desperate need of love, chances are that the
movie has already inherently cut its audience in half by appealing solely to
the male demographic; add to that the inherent silliness of the premise to
those unfamiliar with the source material, and not many people are going to
enjoy the story told. If you are unwilling
to at least humor the notion that vampires directly influenced The Civil War
and that our former president had the abilities of a ninja, then there is not
much humor, character development, or coherent storytelling to keep things
interesting. And, in terms of the uneven
quality that I hinted at earlier in the review, the first half of the film
struggles to build momentum, especially when it comes to Abraham’s first few
slayings. Don’t get me wrong, things do
eventually pick-up, but it is difficult to sing the praises related to overall
quality when there is such a blatant and dramatic quality shift…had the first
half matched the style and energy on the second, this film would have been much
stronger. In the end, even though there
aren’t any truly damning missteps in this historical mashup fantasy, the
limited appeal of the premise and uneven quality prevent the film from being a
must-see.
Considering the weakness of its
marketing campaign, things could have gone far worse for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter than a third place opening,
especially when you consider that the R-rated horror flick was opening against
Disney-Pixar’s newest heavyweight. Now,
I understand that studio release dates are pushed all the time, but I just
cannot see the logic in placing this film against Brave; had it opened in its originally intended release of late
October 2011, the Halloween crowd would have been far more accepting and
boosted numbers. With a $69 million
budget to recover, chances of turning a profit are slim, especially leading
into the stacked month of July, which offers plenty of titles to compete for
the attention of ALVH’s intended
audience. Sure, the idea of a
spider-bite imbuing powers or a grown man dressing like a bat and fighting
crime are ridiculous, but The Amazing
Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises
benefit from widespread familiarity to the source material, established
quality, and massive fan-bases. So, even
though it was a noble attempt at trying something new, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter remains an imperfect film that
simply isn’t for everyone.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
