Before Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) united the warring states of America and embarked on his battle to end slavery, he faced a sinister foe. Nine years have passed since he witnessed the death of his mother after a vampire attack. While on a revenge mission, he meets monster hunter Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper), who unveils a nationwide network of bloodsuckers that walk among humans, fuelling a slave trade that feeds their insatiable thirst.
Sturges enlists Lincoln in the war that, as the future president rises to public prominence, tests him further than any of the political machinations he'll contend with.
Walker and Cooper contend gamely with a script that goes heavy on action rather than acting. It's an imaginative set-up which, with stylish director Timur Bekmambetov at the helm, promises much.
The result delivers successfully in bloody gushes, benefiting from the Gothic touch of producer Tim Burton. Seeing one of America's greatest statesmen doling out decapitation instead of tackling emancipation is a spectacle that only cinema can produce and, while the film sometimes struggles to strike a balance between its humorous premise and horrific on-screen action, it remains visually striking throughout.