In the years since, however, this hasn’t been the case. Apart from 2008’s Wanted, Bekmambetov has been remarkably quiet since making the leap onto the international stage. But now, he’s back, with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, adapted from the Seth Grahame-Smith ‘mash-up’ novel and co-produced by head goth Tim Burton. Curiously, that’s the same creative team behind the quirky dud that was Dark Shadows earlier this year, and while there is a generic gulf between the two films, they are both cut from the same pop-culture-clash cloth. After the sudden death of his mother, young Abe Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) swears to battle the dark forces that hold the southern States of the Union in their cold-blooded grip. Luckily, he has seasoned vampire hunter Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper) to advise him in the arcane ways of disposing of the pallid undead. Before long, he’s swinging his silver-coated axe and beheading his prey like a pro, but Abe soon finds himself drawn to the world of politics in search of a more permanent solution. Storytelling has never been high on Bekmambetov’s list of filmmaking qualities, but that is something of a benefit here. The director skips gleefully through Grahame-Smith’s clunky and overwrought script, trimming dialogue and cutting scenes down to the bone in favour of getting to the next action sequence as quickly as possible. It makes for an easy ride, with nary a second put to bad use in the film’s first 45 minutes. Nevertheless, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter suffers from many of the problems that sunk Dark Shadows. For all of his smorgasbord-style sampling of genre cliches and pop culture – or, in this case, historical – references, Grahame-Smith can’t break free of his very superficial mash-up conceit. This film’s strict adherence to the president’s biography may give it a fundamental narrative structure that Dark Shadows’ script – essentially a melding together of many soap opera plots – lacked, but it lumbers the story with elements that would be the first to hit the cutting room floor if this were the work of a keener imagination. Indeed, Lincoln’s political career proves to be a narrative brick wall, putting the fun on hold for an obligatory half hour so that the hero can hang up his axe and ease into middle age, before picking it up again during an escalated final act push. Such a reductive approach to character, genre and history is a real problem in Grahame-Smith’s film work to date. On screen, his references points both mean and signify nothing. They are simply shortcuts and shoehorns that work in service of the one central concept. For the most part, fortunately, Bekmambetov is capable of wringing as much visual excitement out of the proceedings as possible, but flair can only go so far. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter may be a hollow sort of entertainment, but at least it’s entertainment. And that, at least, is a definite improvement on Dark Shadows. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
title: “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Review” ShowToc: true date: “2025-07-05” author: “William Newman”
In the years since, however, this hasn’t been the case. Apart from 2008’s Wanted, Bekmambetov has been remarkably quiet since making the leap onto the international stage. But now, he’s back, with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, adapted from the Seth Grahame-Smith ‘mash-up’ novel and co-produced by head goth Tim Burton. Curiously, that’s the same creative team behind the quirky dud that was Dark Shadows earlier this year, and while there is a generic gulf between the two films, they are both cut from the same pop-culture-clash cloth. After the sudden death of his mother, young Abe Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) swears to battle the dark forces that hold the southern States of the Union in their cold-blooded grip. Luckily, he has seasoned vampire hunter Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper) to advise him in the arcane ways of disposing of the pallid undead. Before long, he’s swinging his silver-coated axe and beheading his prey like a pro, but Abe soon finds himself drawn to the world of politics in search of a more permanent solution. Storytelling has never been high on Bekmambetov’s list of filmmaking qualities, but that is something of a benefit here. The director skips gleefully through Grahame-Smith’s clunky and overwrought script, trimming dialogue and cutting scenes down to the bone in favour of getting to the next action sequence as quickly as possible. It makes for an easy ride, with nary a second put to bad use in the film’s first 45 minutes. Nevertheless, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter suffers from many of the problems that sunk Dark Shadows. For all of his smorgasbord-style sampling of genre cliches and pop culture – or, in this case, historical – references, Grahame-Smith can’t break free of his very superficial mash-up conceit. This film’s strict adherence to the president’s biography may give it a fundamental narrative structure that Dark Shadows’ script – essentially a melding together of many soap opera plots – lacked, but it lumbers the story with elements that would be the first to hit the cutting room floor if this were the work of a keener imagination. Indeed, Lincoln’s political career proves to be a narrative brick wall, putting the fun on hold for an obligatory half hour so that the hero can hang up his axe and ease into middle age, before picking it up again during an escalated final act push. Such a reductive approach to character, genre and history is a real problem in Grahame-Smith’s film work to date. On screen, his references points both mean and signify nothing. They are simply shortcuts and shoehorns that work in service of the one central concept. For the most part, fortunately, Bekmambetov is capable of wringing as much visual excitement out of the proceedings as possible, but flair can only go so far. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter may be a hollow sort of entertainment, but at least it’s entertainment. And that, at least, is a definite improvement on Dark Shadows. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
