Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Now anyone who knows me will tell you I am not the one for horror films at all.  But then again, I'm a sucker for vampires (no pun intended).  So I couldn't help but notice it as I was reviewing movies coming out in 2012.  First I saw the title of the movie and then the poster.  So I had to stop and read.  Who would take one of the most historical and recognizable American figures like Abraham Lincoln and portray him as a vampire hunter?  Then in the small print on the poster I saw Tim Burton's name.  Then it all made sense.

Tim Burton, known for his quirky films such as Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, is the producer of the film while introducing Russian born director Timur Bekmambetov.  The development of the movie stemmed from a mashup novel written by Seth Grahame-Smith published in 2010.  It was written as a biography of Abraham Lincoln, based on "secret diaries" kept by the 16th President and given to the author by a vampire named Henry Sturges.

When Lincoln is eleven years old, he learns from his father Thomas Lincoln that vampires are in fact real.  Thomas explains to his son that a vampire killed Abraham's grandfather (also named Abraham Lincoln) in 1786.  Young Abraham is also shocked to learn that his beloved mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln succumbed not to milk sickness but rather to being given a "fool's dose" of vampire blood, the result of Thomas's failure to repay a debt. Lincoln vows in his diary to kill as many vampires as he can. A year later he lures the vampire responsible for his mother's death to the family farm and manages to kill it with a homemade stake.

Later on the vampire Henry Sturges re-enters Lincoln's life.  Sturges teaches him the nature of vampirism and trains him for combat.  As a young adult Lincoln witnesses a slave auction.  He follows a slave buyer and his new slaves back to their plantation and discovers to his horror that the buyer is a vampire - the slaves are to be used not for labor but for food. Lincoln writes in his diary his belief that vampires will continue to exist in America as long as they can easily buy their victims in this manner - to end slavery is to end the scourge of vampires. Lincoln becomes an Abolitionist and returns to his home in New Salem.  He then begins his business and political careers by day, continuing to track down vampires at night.

The novel received mixed reviews and I'm anticipating the movie will as well.  So I can't say this will be one of the best of 2012, but the story is original.  Oh yeah...and if you care...it's in 3D.

Release Date:  June 22, 2012