Went and saw "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Killer." I really do not know how to rate this movie. It is good, but I cannot say that it will please anyone.

The problem with the movie is that it tells a good story, but does not really address the modern extremophile mentality of certain groups. Yes, there are vampires, but they are not in-your-face-really-going-to-kill-you baddies that the vampire lovers want. Yes, the movie does address the actual history of Abe, but not in the 'attention-to-details' style that history lovers want. The movie thus will get groans from the groups that really care about the main themes.

The vampires are a constant threat, but it is the same problem of 'why don't they just take over and quit trying to be organized' that bothers me about modern vampires. The vampires lovers have made their monsters so frikkin powerful that their tactics have become silly. Yes, they present Abe as able to handle the vampires, but he is just one man. The undead would have been smarter to just ignore him and continue on their business.

The history is presented in the manner of 'okay, that is right, so MAYBE that is right as well.' The movie does bring out some of Abe's speeches and some facts of his life. That is good. I am not a history buff, but there were other details that I found myself wondering about. While I thus enjoyed the movie, I did not completely buy into the premise.

Let me say that the actor playing Abe did a wonderful job. He did not really look the part, but he looked enough the part that I could accept him. I however believe that he did a wonderful acting job, and while he might not have looked like Abe, he acted like Abe enough that I allowed him to be Abe.

The special effects were also good enough to sell the scenes. The shot of the Mississippi River was faulty in that many boats did not have wave effects. Vampires kept turning into mist, but then Abe had to bury the bodies. I never figured that one out (I think that they were supposedly just moving too fast). The bridge scene works, but only because we are not really concerned with the train. The bridge is an added complication to the action that does make it different, but it helps not to really care about the special effects in the background.

Overall, I left with a 'yeah, they spun a good yarn' type of feeling. If you just want a couple of hours of entertainment, it will satisfy. If you are a vampire junkie or a history buff, it might be best if you wait to watch it in the safety of your home so you can gripe without bothering anyone.

Finally, for you star people. Okay, let me see. I guess that I will give it three stars out of five. If someone is giving it more stars, they liked the actors. If someone is giving it less stars, they are a vampire junkie, history buff, or a special effects person.

Thanks for the review. I read an interview with the director that had me interested -- he talked about fight scenes being basically dialogue (a point that my husband, a stage combat choreographer, has tried to relate to various actors and directors before), and he talked about what makes a good epic hero as opposed to a comic hero -- Abe had the potential to be either. He said that if the audience knows more than the character, the character is a comic hero. If the character knows more than the audience, it's an epic hero, which is what the director was shooting for. Did he achieve that?

I can say that I was interested from the start because my group often plays in a fantasy historical setting, and this looks JUST like something we would do in our campaigns!

Wyndeleth wrote:

He said that if the audience knows more than the character, the character is a comic hero. If the character knows more than the audience, it's an epic hero, which is what the director was shooting for. Did he achieve that?

Under those rules, there was no way to achieve that. Part of the audience will come in knowing about vampires, and others about Abe. In my review I allowed that those two groups would probably not like the film. There are really no surprises in the film, so I guess that it will be comic. Of course, the same logic holds for 100% of those romance films, and there are people that love them. Don't go into "Abe Lincoln Vampire Killer" expecting a great film. Grab some popcorn and a drink, and expect to be entertained.