observation notes: ABRAHAM LINCOLN vs ZOMBIES

As the title would indicate, the plot of The Asylum's latest offering, Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, is pretty straightforward:

"While the Civil War rages on, President Abraham Lincoln must undertake an even more daunting task: Destroying the Confederate Undead."


The results? Extraordinary. ABvZ is a nice, thick slice of revisionist history madness, a gore-weltering, zombie-emancipating, president-bolstering piece of cinematic magnificence, and to miss it would be to give up on all fun in your life.


As always, Committed's notes are spoiler-free, but certain aspects of this tour-de-force must be acknowledged, beginning with the performance by Bill Oberst Jr. (A Haunting in Salem, Princess and the Pony) as our 16th President. Holy crap. Oberst is dead-on (pun totally intended) as Lincoln, giving as textured and encompassing a portrayal as Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain, only, you know, with hella more killing. The cadence of the man, his stature, his stern resolve, moral tenderness and his limitless sense of duty; all are layered into Oberst's towering on-screen persona. There is no other actor who could have pulled this off, period. Oberst is the star here in every sense of the word, the film is his, and he carries it proudly, defiantly, and with expertise.


It is a zombie movie, after all, so something must be said of the effects, which I found to be appropriately for the era and its available kill technology. This isn't the messiest zombie flick of the year, but it is perhaps the most nuanced, and certainly the only one featuring two American Presidents (you're gonna love when you find out who the second one is, trust me).

Overall, I found ABvZ to be a glorious mash-up of Night of the Living Dead and Munich, shot kinda like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, seriously. Writer/Director Richard Schenkman has turned in a well-researched, well-integrated film that achieves perfect pitch as a period horror film, a burgeoning sub-genre sure to flood the market in the next few years.* Schenkman did his homework, and it shows. This is a smart, exciting, thrilling and ultimately righteous film-going experience. And, as a Southerner, it's possibly the best we've ever been represented in a Civil War movie - as brain-hungry, mindlessly-violent zombies. Enjoy!




* a reminder that I have called dibs on Robert E. Lee vs Bigfoot, or really any concept that involves Rebel troops fighting one or more Sasquatch.