• I'm not entirely sure whether or not we've seen a red band trailer for
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (I can't say say I've had an awful lot of interest in the film so far) but the one we were shown at the Kapow! Comic Convention on Saturday really showed off just how brutal the film looks set to be. This is violent, action packed and bloody stuff, although thankfully nowhere near over the top as the blood splatter effects in the likes of
Punisher: War Zone.
• The first scene revealed that Rufus Sewell's Adam (the leader of the vampires and main villain in the film) has his sights set on the White House. A young Abraham Lincoln listens on and attempts to take out one of his henchman. However, it appears that he has no idea that these guys are vampires as a bullet to the head has absolutely no effect.
• From here, a very tense and exciting sequence begins as Lincoln attempts to escape and is pursued by the taunting bloodsucker. This whole scene takes place on the docks, and as he attempts to take refuge in a shed of some sort (unsuccessfully as he's unable to lock the door), he fumbles with his gun, dropping his only bullet. However, he manages to regain his composure and shoots the vampire in the eye. Thinking he's won, he stumbles away, turning around to see that...you guessed it...he's gone! There was then a moment which literally resulted in everyone in the auditorium jumping out of their seats.
• The next scene was far less tense, and featured a scene between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Mary Todd. He confesses to her exactly what it is he spends his nights doing - hunting down and killing vampires. Of course, she doesn't believe a word he's saying and he allows her to think he's joking.
• Their romantic picnic ends with the duo outside of Mary's house. She inventively uses Lincoln's top hat to stand on in order to be able to kiss him. As she moves in, he turns his head, and the date comes to a rather abrupt end. It's not that Lincoln isn't interested - he simply wants to protect her from the dangers he faces.
• We then saw a lot of new footage, including a fantastic scene of Lincoln attempting to navigate his way through a stampede of horse, some very creative uses of the 3D effects (a whip actually coming out of the screen towards the audience) and a glimpse at some of the ways Lincoln uses his axe - turns out it doubles up as a gun! The footage ended with a much older Lincoln wielding his axe. There appears to be a lot more to
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter than meets the eye and that there will be a lot more to the story than the title suggests.
• And that was it! The above description is pretty much accurate to the best of my knowledge, although there may of course be one or two inaccuracies (it was a long weekend, and this was the first of many panels I attended). One thing I AM certain of though is that the film will be much better than any of us have so far imagined. The 3D is pretty good, the special effects look top notch, and Benjamin Walker appears to be a great choice for the role. I'm still not 100% convinced, but my interest in the film has increased tenfold. Definitely one to watch out for.
STARRING:
Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Todd Lincoln
Rufus Sewell as Adam
Jimmi Simpson as Josh Speed
Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturges
Anthony Mackie as William Johnson
Robin McLeavy as Nancy Lincoln
Alan Tudyk as Stephen A. Douglas
Marton Csokas as Jack Armstrong
Cameron M. Brown as Willie Lincoln
RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2012