![Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter [Blu-ray]](http://cdn.avsforum.com/1/1a/50x50px-ZC-1a796f42_B005LAIHZE-51eBvB-7WWL.jpeg)
The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )
Film:
Extras:
Audio/3D Video total rating:
( Max score: 100 )
88
Studio and Year: 20th Century Fox - 2012
MPAA Rating: R
Feature running time: 105 minutes
Genre: Action/Horror
Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: MVC/AVC
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio, English/Spanish/French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Martin Csokas
Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Music by: Henry Jackman
Written by: Seth Grahame-Smith
Region Code: A
Blu-ray Disc release Date: October 23, 2012
"President by day. Hunter by night"
Film Synopsis:
From visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted) comes this edgy thriller about the untold story that shaped our nation. Abraham Lincoln, history's greatest hunter of the undead, must risk the presidency, his family and his life to protect America from bloodthirsty vampires. Thrust into an epic fight against the ruthless killers, Lincoln must rely on those around him. But it's unclear who he can trust in this "visceral, violent and wild ride" (JoBlo.com) that's ablaze with plot twists, blood-pumping action and spectacular special effects!
My Take:
Based on the novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is narrated by Lincoln as he recounts the events of his life via his journal. It begins during his childhood after his father has a run in with a local merchant named Jack Bart in defense of a slave boy that young Abraham is friends with. Bart promises a reckoning and that night while in bed, Abraham witnesses what appears to be Bart, sneak into their home and infect his mother with some type of unknown sickness that quickly kills her. 10 years later as a young man with vengeance in his heart Abraham attempts to kill Bart only to find that Bart is a vampire. Bart makes quick work of Abraham but before Bart can finish him, a man by the name of Henry Sturges intervenes saving him. Bart escapes and Henry takes Abraham under his explaining to him that vampires do exist and have been living among them for ages. Henry details what it takes to kill vampires and trains Abraham in the art using his weapon of choice, a silver bladed axe.
Henry also promises Abraham the revenge he seeks on Bart but it can only come when the time is right. In the meantime Henry sends Abraham to Illinois where he settles as a store clerk and law student by day and vampire slayer by night. Henry warns Abraham against close relationships as they can be used by his enemies. Henry soon meets Mary Todd and they fall in love and marry. Meanwhile Abraham’s nightly activities haven’t gone unnoticed by the eldest of the undead, Adam, who has plans of his own that now include getting rid of the man in the tall hat. Abraham’s life takes a 180 degree turn when he discovers that perhaps he can do more good wielding a pen than an axe and goes into politics. Unfortunately, now President Lincoln finds that amidst the civil conflict and turmoil that the country is embroiled in lies the evil that he once fought. That evil seeks to take advantage of the situation in order to ensure not only its survival but dominion. Abraham must once again arm himself to take on an unimaginable foe. This time he isn’t alone…
As an action film junkie I am pretty much open to anything from a conceptual standpoint but I have to admit to raising an eyebrow when I initially saw the title for this film. Be that as it may the trailer certainly looked good enough to wet my appetite so I eagerly waited for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to come to Blu-ray. Going in I knew not to look at it from a literal perspective and was curious as to how the narrative would play out in terms of any historical significance. Therein rests the film’s biggest problem. On the one hand is a very decent action horror flick, ignoring the fact that the main character is the sixteenth president honest Abe who as we all know set the bar as high as they come. On the other hand the film incorporates many of the factual events in Lincoln’s life but altered to include the narrative theme of the vampires presence.
As such the film loses focus, periodically returning to a historical point to explain a particular event and how the vampires played a part in it. I would have much preferred a sort of alternate reality where things play out on their own with an outcome that could have but not necessarily tied into history. Despite that there is still much to enjoy here especially for action/horror fans. The production values are high and the action is nicely choreographed and visceral. From a conceptual standpoint Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is silly, tongue-in-cheek hokum, but as a mindless, kick ass, bloodletting action flick, it gets the job done.
Parental Guide:
The rating is for violence throughout and brief sexuality.
AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65
**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**
Audio: 92
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)
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3D Presentation: 86
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)
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Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter 3D comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment featuring 1080p MVC encoded video and lossless DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 4.2 Mpbs.
So far I haven’t been impressed with many of the native 2D to 3D conversions that I have reviewed on Blu-ray, although there have been exceptions. The recent 3D release of Titanic is a good example. Going into this review I wasn’t expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. This a very decent 3D presentation that makes good use of the platform. Detail is well preserved as the image retains its high level of clarity as objects within the frame are delineated and sharp. Depth is appreciable as evidenced by a predominantly natural sense of dimension as objects or people are layered in the foreground/background. There are a variety of sequences that provide a fun reach out and touch level of dimension as well as a bit of screen popping wizardry. This primarily revolves around the action based sequences and features flying objects, exploding debris, protruding weapons or floating particles in the air. Comparing contrast, color, skin tone reproduction and detail reproduction to the 2D presentation I think that they appear identical. I didn’t observe any overt instances of crosstalk/ghosting. Overall Abraham Lincoln Vampire hunter makes for an engaging and fun 3D experience.
Incorporating elements of horror and action a film like this relies heavily on its soundtrack to elicit the intended effect upon the audience and this DTS-HD Master Audio does just that. This is a fairly aggressive surround sound mix that features an array of well placed sound effects that engage the listening position. The room is illuminated with an array of sounds that are both directional and ambient in nature. I appreciated the attention to detail that went into creating the surround mix as it effectively replicates the environments featured in the film. Bass reproduction is clean, extended and hard hitting as it accentuates the audio’s excellent dynamic range with rich, palpable impact. Dialogue intelligibility is never a problem even during the film’s active moments. This is a great surround sound experience that made this film a bit more enjoyable.
2D Video Quality:
Video: 86
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)
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- Compression:
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter comes to Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox HE featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 28 Mbps.
This high definition presentation has a light grainy and filmic quality that doesn’t lend itself to razor sharp clarity and three dimensional quality. This film has an intentionally stylized visual design that utilizes a limited color scheme that works aesthetically well for the films subject matter/time period. The color range is limited to shades of steely blue, gray and black with splashes of crimson and muted sepia tones. Warm accents are used here and there to break up the film’s monochromatic essence. Fleshtones hold up well against the de-saturated chroma and don’t appear unnatural. Uneven light and shading are prevalent. Contrast is spot on which empowers whites and grays without washing away detail. Whites are punchy and grays are multi-staged and deep. The use of CGI and green screens softens some elements during wide angle pans but I never found it to be overtly distracting. I found the quality of the video to be high. It isn’t always razor sharp but it’s cleanly rendered with plenty of subtle refinement and delineation that enhanced depth and revealed fine detail in objects, clothing, and physical features. Shadow delineation is a bit of a mixed bag which impacts visual penetration in certain scenes while others offers discerning depth of field. I didn’t detect any other obvious signs of video related anomalies or artifacts and thought that this encoding looked solid.
Bonus Features:
Disc 1: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter 3D Blu-ray
Disc 2: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter 2D (plus bonus features)
- (HD) The great calamity – 7 minute animated short
- (HD) The making of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (5 featurettes):
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- Dark secrets: Book to screen – 15 minutes
- On location: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – 17 minutes
- Vampire hunting: Fight choreography – 16 minutes
- The art of transformation: Makeup effects – 13 minutes
- A visual feast: Timu Bekmambetov’s visual style – 13 minutes
- Dark secrets: Book to screen – 15 minutes
- Audio commentary with writer Seth Grahame-Smith
- (HD) “powerless” music video by Linkin Park
- (HD) Theatrical Trailer
- Bonus DVD
- Digital Copy
- Ultraviolet Digital Copy
Final Thoughts:
Based on the novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter isn’t a conceptually strong film however that doesn’t prevent it from an entertaining action/horror popcorn flick that is sure to please genre fans. It storms onto Blu-ray in this multi-disc 3D offering that features a very decent 3D presentation, excellent high definition video quality and reference 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound. An above average assortment of bonus supplements rounds out a solid package from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment that is well worth checking out.
Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS55 3D Ready 1080p High Definition Front Projector
Stewart Filmscreen - Studiotek 130 G3 100” 16x9 Screen
Onkyo PR-SC5508 THX Ultra 2 Audio/Video Processor
Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Disc/3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Panasonic DMP-BDT310 3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
System Controller: Apple iPad/iRule Pro HD Universal Remote Control
Canton "Ergo" Series speakers
Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers
SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)
APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
Wireworld, Better Cables (Silver Serpent) - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package
