10 Worst Films Adapted From Black List Screenplays

Based on the mashup book of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote the movie’s screenplay, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is an alternative retelling of the titular president’s life in which his mission is not only to become POTUS but also to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of a vampire.

Like Grahame-Smith’s earlier novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – also recently adapted for the big screen and with only slightly better results – it’s an absurd concept that in the right hands could’ve been a lot of fun. Unfortunately, director Timur Bekmambetov plays it far too straight for the silly premise to ever been enjoyable.

To give the film its dues, there are brief flashes of inspiration like a reimagining of the Battle of Gettysburg with the Confederate baddies swapped for an army of blood-sucking undead and a clever ending that hints at Lincoln’s real-life death but it suffers overall from taking itself far too seriously.