5/09/2011

1st look at Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Maybe it's because I haven't read Seth Grahame-Smith's book yet, but I don't know what to think about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I've heard dismal things about his Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and the adaptation of that novel has had more than a few problems getting underway. On one hand I love the premise, which has Lincoln surviving a vampire attack as a kid and spending the rest of his life(and his time as President) as a secret killer of the bloodsuckers.  Timur Bekmambetov(Wanted, Night Watch) is directing, which is also a positive. The cast rocks: Benjamin Walker, Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Alan Tudyk, and Robin McLeavy are all featured heavily. So what's my issue? Tone.

Bekmambetov describes the film as a cross between D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln(back in 1930) and Noferatu. To me that sounds like a train wreck in the making. Might be a better idea to tackle this thing from a pure camp angle, like Bubba Ho-Tep or something.

We're still more than a year away before the June 22nd 2012 release date hits, but Fox is getting out in front of things by releasing the first image from the historical horror. It comes courtesy of the New York Times(via The Playlist), and doesn't really show much but it does give us our first look at Benjamin Walker as "Honest Abe".