ABE LINCOLN VERSUS THE VAMPIRES

Who doesn't appreciate Tim Burton? Well, there are probably some people who don't. Perhaps you're one of them. But even if you didn't enjoy Edward Scissorhands or The Nightmare Before Christmas, or happen to be one of those Dark Shadow die-hard fans who were disappointed and a little bit dismayed by Johnny Depp's comedic reinvention of cult icon Barnabas Collins, you have to admit that, if nothing else, the 54-year-old director is clearly not afraid to take chances when it comes to his work. Granted, of late, some critics have begun to accuse Burton of lapsing into the formulaic, citing his repeated casting of Johnny Depp in the starring roles of his films, and the familiar balance of dark comedy and surreal imagery that characterize those films. But, then, that's what movie audiences have come to expect from a Tim Burton film. And as the old adage goes...if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So it makes sense that Burton's new film, due in theaters this summer, should be a hit as well, doesn't it? Especially since it features all the things we have come to associate with a Burton film: the surreal sets, the cast of quirky characters, the dark humor...and Abraham Lincoln.

That's right. If you haven't already seen the trailers, or heard the hype, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter will soon be coming to a theater near you. Based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, ALVH will be released in glorious 3D and will feature Benjamin Walker as the 16th president of the United States, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as his volatile wife Mary Todd Lincoln, and the diabolically handsome Rufus Sewell as Adam, the leader of the vampires. If you haven't read the book, the revelation of Lincoln's alleged activities as a vampire hunter have supposedly come to light via the pages of "secret diaries" written by a vampire called Henry Sturges, who claims to have rescued a teen-aged Lincoln from a vampire attack along the Ohio River. Prior to the attack, the youthful Lincoln had learned that his own grandfather was killed by a vampire and that his mother's death was the result of a dose of "fool's blood" (i.e. vampire-tainted blood), given to her by a disgruntled creditor when Lincoln's father was unable to pay back his debt. Naturally, being a young man of honor, Lincoln vows to kill as many vampires as he can in order to avenge his family and, at the same time, rid the world of the scourge. After being rescued by Sturges, who nurses him back to health and apprises him of the deepest, darkest secrets of the vampire world, Lincoln begins training for his role as a vampire hunter, becoming proficient in wrestling and axe-handling. He is further aided in his quest by Sturges, who, over the next several years, sends him a series of lists containing the names and addresses of vampires, all of whom Lincoln tracks down and kills. But of course it doesn't end there.

On relocating to Washington DC, Lincoln runs into his old friend, the writer Edgar Allen Poe, who also knows a thing or two about vampires, being the descendant of Europeans who were driven out of their homeland by the evil undead. And if that's not enough to set Lincoln's blood a-boilin', after he is elected president, a vampire sneaks into the White House and kills his son Willy. And here we all thought the poor boy died of fever! And as though good ol' honest Abe didn't have enough on his hands trying to deal with the civil war. The one historical fact about Lincoln that doesn't change in Grahame's retelling of his story is the president's death at the hands of assassin John Wilkes Booth. But even in that there is a twist. What is it? Well, we'd rather let you find that out on your own. No one likes a spoiler, after all.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter will be hitting theaters on June 22. Whether the film will turn out to be another success for Burton remains to be seen. But whether you think that Tim Burton has gone too far this time or not, the chance to see Abraham Lincoln engaged in hand to hand combat with a vampire in a waistcoat seems that it would at least be worth a trip to the local cinema on bargain night.