Seth Grahame-Smith’s mashup of zombies and classics was a hoot in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
.
Next, Grahame-Smith wrote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
. Finally, it’s explained that when young Lincoln discovers his mother’s death was caused by a supernatural predator, he begins a lifelong vendetta against vampires and their slave-owning allies. The story is revealed through a newly discovered journal and recounted in a quasi-sonorous style, complete with disturbing sepia toned photographs. However it’s an ugly stretch to explain slavery away as the method plantation owners, er, vampires, use to keep a ready supply of delicious blood even if the implication may be that slavery was monstrous. Nonetheless the book is bloody, witty, and trots off in all sorts of unexpected directions. It certainly honors our 16th president’s remarkable ax-wielding skills.
The movie, if the trailer gives any indication, dramatically departs from the grandiose yet sly tone of the book. It looks identical to today’s action flicks, with lots of explosions and slow mo airborne fighting, like a Blade remake in Civil War era costumes. Whatever happened to dignified vampire hunting?
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