Some movies can bring to viewers entirely different concepts from stories they know and love. And sometimes screenwriters just take a wild idea and run with it, which results in an experience that might resonate with audiences in unexpected ways. One of those kinds of movies is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a 2012 action-horror film that, as the title suggests, depicted the 16th U.S. president as a destroyer of supernatural creatures. The movie is coming to Hulu this October.
In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the title character (played by Benjamin Walker) spends ten years training to eliminate the blood-sucking creatures after they kill his mother and start plotting to take over the United States. Abe decides he needs to go to New Orleans to eliminate a powerful vampire who owns a plantation and starts targeting the political leader. In this alternate, supernatural version of history, Lincoln also makes it to the presidency but has to deal with the threat of vampires paired with the aftermath of his bold decision to abolish slavery nationwide.
The daring approach to the Abraham Lincoln story didn’t get a warm welcome from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie earned a pretty low 34% critic score, and back when it premiered, New York Post writer Kyle Smith wrote that he didn’t know if he should be “more offended as a moviegoer or as an American.” The Guardian‘s Mark Kermode, however, admitted that you could have fun with the story if you just buy into its “jolly nonsense” and “ambitiously ludicrous fight scenes.”
How Did ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ Perform at the Box Office?
When it premiered, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter raked in over $100 million at the box office. Not an off-the-charts performance but the kind that signals audience interest in unique and unusual stories — and this might happen with Hulu subscribers once they realize that the title is available to stream in the catalog. The cast might also be another reason to check the movie out: aside from Walker, it also features Dominic Cooper (My Lady Jane), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Brave New World), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off), Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat) and Martin Csokas (Cuckoo).
The daring action of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a trademark of its director, Timur Bekmambetov. At the time, he was best known for directing the Angelina Jolie action flick Wanted, and the Russian surprise hit Night Watch, which also centered around vampires. The screenplay was written by Seth Grahame-Smith, who adapted the story from his own novel.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter debuts on the Hulu catalog on October 1. You can check out the trailer below:
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