Good Historical Timeline, Decent Action, Confusing Plot, and Bad CGI

Rating: 5/10 (13 January 2014)

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is one of the most confusing movie's I've seen in a long time. It's main problem is that it tries to be too many things at once. In the beginning it's a horror-suspense flick with two good jump scares and dark creepy atmosphere. However once Lincoln meets Henry it becomes an action-thriller with some cool stunts but ultimately drowns in its' own fake blood and repetitiveness. From here on is where it becomes trippy and confusing. Lincoln has a strange change of heart and decides slavery is more important than stopping the Vampires and the movie turns into a pseudo-documentary about Lincoln's presidency. This political melodrama continues until Lincoln's son gets killed, prompting Henry's return where they decide to be badass vampire hunters again. What?
Despite this horribly confusing plot the acting isn't that bad. The best acting in my opinion was that of Dominic Cooper who played Henry Struges. Cooper makes the character consistent and entertaining throughout the movie and manages to make the viewer care about Sturges. Benjamin Walker who played Lincoln does a good job though he does come off a bit dry and under-enthusiastic in some scenes. Where I believe Walker does best is capturing Lincoln's grief of losing his son where he knows it's his fault and he could have stopped it.
Another facet where the movie dropped the ball is special effects. The movie relied so much on CGI that at times scenes couldn't be taken seriously for how fake they were. The worst offender in my opinion is horse stampede. The scene is supposed Lincoln finally getting revenge on Jack Barts, the vampire who killed his mother, but ends up being a ridiculous acrobatic equestrian fight that is almost entirely CGI.
Overall this isn't a completely awful movie but it does leave a lot to be desired. It would have been better had it stayed with its' original horror-suspense-action formula instead of deviating into historical melodrama. The historical aspects could have been mentioned as the story progressed but instead they made the entire middle third about Lincoln becoming president and ending slavery. The oddest thing about this part of the movie is that it's clear they spent a lot of time trying to make it historically accurate instead of entertaining. The film ends up being saved by its' acting which give it some funny moments and somewhat likable characters.