Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a fantasy action/horror story based on the novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also contributed to the screenplay. The director is Russian Timur Bekmambetov, best known for his work on Night Watch and Day Watch.

The film opens with Abe, President of the United States from 1861 to 1865, proclaiming: "However history remembers me, before I was President, I shall always think of myself as a hunter." The story then shows Abe's bloodthirsty mission to avenge his mother's death and save America from being invaded by hordes of undead bloodsuckers and their slave-owning conspirators.

A giant among men at 1.9m, Lincoln adopts the axe as his preferred tool of the trade, hiding it inside his signature long black coat. It is precisely this kind of proactive dedication to the cause and deadly skill with a sharp instrument that is missing from the politicians of today.

His adversaries are terrifying creatures of the night - aggressive, visceral and relentless with a voracious appetite for blood. They have superhuman strength and are only mildly fazed by sunlight. These vamps appear human until they show their true appearance: fangs, veiny blue skin and deep black eyes.

If you like your supernatural revenge tales violent, blood-spattered and based on a very original concept, this is the film for you.

This interesting and unusual take on the Beauty and the Beast myth was the first collaboration between director Tim Burton and his long-time leading man, Johnny Depp; and perhaps their best. An inventor (played by horror movie legend Vincent Price) builds himself a son, Edward (Depp), who has a complex construction of scissors for hands. Just as he is gifting his son new hands of flesh and fingers, the inventor suddenly dies, leaving Edward alone in an isolated gothic mansion, still with his razor-sharp hands. He is rescued eventually by motherly Avon lady, Peg Boggs (Wiest), who takes the trusting young man to her home in the suburbs, much to the bemusement of her family and neighbours. When Edward meets her teenage daughter, Kim (Ryder), he is transfixed by her beauty, and the stage is set for this fairy tale of love and woe.

While his later films may have begun to grate with their over-stylised look, this is Tim Burton at his early creative best, with imaginative and eye-popping imagery accompanying an original and charming story that will tug a few heartstrings. 
The Boggs's pastel suburbia was a lovingly constructed homage to the director's home town and the film is bursting with detail, captured with gorgeous cinematography. Punctuated by Danny Elfman's beautifully haunting score, this is an enchanting fable of innocence meeting the harsh real world. Loved by film geeks, casual viewers and everyone in-between, this is a modern classic not to be missed.