ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS. ZOMBIES (2012) ** ½

Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies was The Asylum’s obvious knock-off to Abraham Lincoln:  Vampire Hunter.  The curious thing is, it surprisingly does a better job combining history and horror than that film did.  Of course, its aim is much lower, but it also manages to be a lot more fun.  

As a boy, Honest Abe (Bill Oberst, Jr.) had to murder his own parents when they succumbed to a zombie bite.  Years later, during the Civil War, Lincoln learns of another zombie outbreak threatening an army base.  He then commissions a small band of soldiers and leads them into battle to stop the zombie plague once and for all.  

The secret to the film’s success is that it plays things deadly serious.  If Abe was busting out one-liners like “Four GORE and seven years ago!” it would’ve gotten old fast.  Sure, all of this is silly, but Oberst Jr. (who lends considerable gravitas to the role) solemnly believes it, so we should too.  While the supporting cast isn’t quite as adept at walking that line, they follow his lead well enough.  

This is an Asylum movie after all, but writer/director Richard (A Diva’s Christmas Carol) Schenkman does a good job at stretching the small budget.  (Much of this looks like Civil War reenactment mixed with a zombie pub crawl.)  However, it’s rather enjoyable.   The variations on the cliched zombie attacks are just different enough to feel somewhat fresh, and the Evil Dead-inspired make-up is well done.  

It kind of gets bogged down once Lincoln takes refuge with a group of disparate survivors (including Confederate soldiers, an old flame, and some soon-to-be-famous historical figures).  Still, it’s much better than I expected, even if it isn’t quite a home run.  Too bad it all fizzles out by the end.  After the climax, it continues on needlessly for an overlong coda.  Seriously, a movie called Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies didn’t need to run 96 minutes, but it’s a minor miracle it’s as good as it is for as long as it is.