Abraham Lincoln vs. ZOMBIES (2012)
Starring: Bill Oberst Jr., Baby Norman, Jason Vail, Don McGraw, Ronald Ogden
Written and Directed by Richard Schenkman
90 minutes
Distributed by The Asylum Home Entertainment
Let me start off by saying I was not enthused when I first read about this film coming out, especially with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter coming out in late June. I finally decided to pick Abraham Lincoln vs. ZOMBIES up and give it a go, and let me tell you I am glad I did. Bill Oberst Jr. portrays the 16th American President, Abraham Lincoln with such sincerity and realism like he was in a big budget blockbuster. I commend Bill Oberst Jr. for giving his all in this role. So to all the award people out there in Film-Land….GIVE Bill Oberst Jr. an award for his portrayal of the scythe swinging Lincoln!!! However, I can’t really say that about the rest of the acting, although it wasn’t terrible or to over the top….well maybe just a little.
This film could be on the History Channel with the way it is set up and filmed with the only difference that Lincoln was kicking ass and taking names. Hell, even a young Teddy Roosevelt gets into the swing of things, literally. The film was shot in Sepia tones giving it that classy look and feel no matter how absurd the concept. At some points throughout the film, I thought I was enjoying some History Channel story about the Civil War. Since I am an enthusiast of the Civil War and American History during that period, I had to try and separate my inner history nerd from my inner movie freak….which was easy enough to do. Enough of me gushing on this right now….let me get down to business.
We start off with Lincoln’s father and mother running in the woods away from zombies. Lincoln’s mother gets bitten by a zombie, but his father comes to the rescue. Later on, all three Lincoln’s are at the family home, when young Abe hears a gunshot. Abe goes in to the bedroom to find his father dying from a self inflicted gunshot wound, and his mother turned zombie tied to the bed. Abe realizes what he has to do…the zombie slaying begins. Flash forward to President Lincoln, who in having a past encounter with the living dead, stumbles upon a rather grisly discovery…the living dead were responsible for decimating a garrison of Union soldiers who were trying to take Fort Pulaski from Confederate soldiers in Georgia . Lincoln then leads a rag tag group of Secret Service Agents, Confederate soldiers, and a couple ladies of the night into combat against the horde of the living dead. With the grouping of such characters, the zombies are in for one hell of a fight. Some of those characters begin to sympathize with the zombies, fearing that they are just innocent men, women, and children that are inflicted with some sort of medical condition. I don’t want to spoil too much of this film, since I think it is a fun film to watch.
I do have one thing to say about the character of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. The actor portraying General Jackson was so much fun…considering the first thing I noticed was his beard. A beard that was so fake that you couldn’t help but laugh. I applaud the baby face actor who so generously graced the screen with such a horrible application of facial hair….I am sure ZZ Top would be proud of.
There are mentions of other historical characters throughout this film, which could inevitably be the base for more films in the future. I was well into this film, and began guessing what could the ending hold for our characters. Well it was cleverly tied in with historical fact…
Overall Abraham Lincoln vs. ZOMBIES was a fun and entertaining film. The zombie special effects were not that bad, however, the CGI involved was easy to pick out….but with around $150k budget, it could have been worse. Once again, Bill Oberst Jr. gets a 10 out of 10 for his portrayal of Lincoln, and I cannot express the awesomeness of his acting!!! The other actors did well, but nothing compared to Oberst. With all that being said, and me trying not to give away to many spoilers, I say this movie is definitely worth a rental…maybe even a purchase if the price is right.
Abraham Lincoln vs. ZOMBIES is a 6 out of 10
Haddonfield Hatchet (THE MEAT)
Co-host, Land of the Creeps Horror Podcast
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Don McGraw says
Hey, Haddonfield … As the guy who had to wear the ridiculous beard throughout filming, I just wanted to stop by and say how much I enjoyed reading your review! Take care! – Don McGraw (General Stonewall Jackson)
Haddonfield Hatchet says
Don,
Thanks for the comment. It was a fun watch…and I will be watching it again.