Thanks to generous donations from our supporters, we created “Q & Abe” – a podcast that investigates real questions from visitors to the Cottage. This bonus episode accompanies the first episode of Season 7, “Have you seen Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter?”
As we’re interviewing experts for the show, we sometimes end up with fascinating information that doesn’t quite fit in the main episode, but we don’t think that should keep you all from hearing about it. Elizabeth Richmond-Garza told us why the director of the movie might have been particularly suited to this material, and we heard from all our guests – AND our staff – about whether they’d recommend the movie to others.
In addition to the embedded media player below, you can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts. You also can read below for a transcript of the episode. (Coming soon!)
Joan Cummins: Hi everyone! This is Joan and Callie from Q&Abe, a podcast by President Lincoln’s Cottage.
Callie Hawkins: While we’re talking to many different folks for the show, we sometimes end up with interesting bits that don’t quite fit in the main episode, but we don’t think that should keep you all from hearing them.
JC: This bonus episode accompanies episode 7.1, Have you seen Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter?, so if you haven’t listened to that one yet, it might be a good place to start.
CH: Elizabeth Richmond-Garza, scholar of the Gothic, made connections for us about why the director of the movie might have been particularly suited to this material.
Elizabeth Richmond-Garza: I really find Timur Bekmambetov’s work fascinating. Actually, this film was crucial to his career as part of his move from Russia to the United States, so as to be able to work with Hollywood style films. So I think that Timur Bekmambetov was keen to work on the United States, and he had a track record of extraordinary success working with the Gothic. That’s remarkable in a Russian context because although there are some Gothic texts in Russian, Gothic isn’t a major genre fiction mode, uh, in Russian literature, despite there being a couple of very, you know, well admired examples of it. So he wanted to move to the US. Also, I don’t know if it rings in your ears exactly, but his name indicates that he’s not ethnically Russian. Um, though he’s Russian speaking and part of the broader territories that were controlled by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, and now the Confederation of Independent States. So actually he has a real interest in race and ethnicity. And that’s both in the novels that he adapted and in his adaptations of it on the Russian side. But I think he was actually drawn to the content about diversity in the US. So I think he was very interested in the specificity of the gambit of the novel, uh, in adapting it to the film, and that is that it was about enslaved persons. And about their relationship to plantation owners. And that’s something that also resonates with Russian history because of the system of serfdom, which isn’t identical with slavery but it does tie humans to land, and the land owner controls whether the human can leave or not. So it’s a kind of indirect ownership of human beings taking place there. So there’s some real natural affinities between him and his specific work, and also between, if you like, a Russian, especially a non ethnic white Russian in relationship to the topic of enslavement and, uh, parasitism.
JC: We also asked all our guests – would you recommend this movie?
ERG: [laughs] That’s actually a very easy question to answer because I teach parts of it, so I recommend it to 250 undergraduates every fall semester in my Art of the Uncanny class. Um, I would, I mean, I’m always very careful, I don’t recommend films with lots of violence in it, and it’s, you know, it’s – I always say to people, it’s got vampire violence in it. So it’s got lots of blood and gore, but it’s all very, very make believe. That being said, I always am very mindful, I don’t want people to feel unsafe, I don’t want them to encounter something that is terrifying in a counterproductive way, so I think anyone’s who’s interested in the Gothic enjoys it. People who are into – it’s got good actors in it, as well, so it’s quite well done. To me the CG is a little over the top, I think it would actually be better if it was a little bit more live and real action, but any fan of the Gothic and anyone who can deal with a little vampire violence, I think it’s very, it’s very, very interesting – and paralleling it with, I also teach the, the original Night Watch, uh, Bekmambetov’s first vampire movie, the Russian one, which is actually, I think it’s even better. Uh, it’s in Russian, so you have to read it or learn Russian, but it’s really, really good.
Andrew Salvati: Yeah, yeah, I thought it was very interesting. I just saw it again recently, I hadn’t seen it for quite a while, but um, yeah… It’s, it’s got all the ridiculousness that you would hope for something called Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. I mean, the scene where he’s fighting Bates on the horseback, on horseback was just so over the top that, you know, of course, this is what Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is as a movie, of course it is.
Scott Magelssen: I think if you can get a, get a group of people together who know a little bit about the 19th century, know about the past, know about Lincoln, and who can watch it in, in a kind of a winking and enjoyable way, I think it’s, I think it’s delicious. I think it’s delightful. Um, , would I recommend this to the average, you know, person just looking for something fun to watch on a weekend night? I might point them in some other directions first before this one.
CH: We followed Scott’s advice and got a group of people together to watch the movie. Here’s what our staff had to say after our in-house showing:
[overlapping voices]
Paul Sullivan: In his defense, did not know what the movie was about –
Jess McNeil: WAIT, she just said they’re late for the play!
All: [laughter] Oh noooo!! Oh no!
Haley Bryant: We had no idea this was happening!
PS: No! Spoilers!
[film audio excerpt]
Abraham Lincoln: Mary, darling, have you seen my hat? Have you seen my hat?
Henry Sturgess: Abraham, let me make you immortal, let us fight through the ages side by side.
AL: Vampires are not the only things that live forever.
[crowd talking over]
Kyesse Bidzimou: No, don’t go…
[film continues]
AL: History prefers legends to men. It prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle and forgets the blood. However history remembers me, if it does at all, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth.
[film soundtrack: laughter, party noises]
JM: Wait, are you telling me that he could have been a vampire in Mamma Mia? [all laugh]
PS: Yes! Canon! Canon event!
JM: [laughing] He lived through it!
HB: Is that supposed to be Obama?
PS: Wait, is it? Was that Obama? Was that Obama?
HB: He said the same thing he said to Abe…
PS: Obama??
Cameron Walpole: Oh, no…
PS: Obama?
KB: Obama?
HB: That’s what I think.
PS: Obama Vampire Slayer?
HB: [sighs] Ok, nobody move just yet.
PS: You can’t tell me what to do, Haley.
HB: Does anybody really want to watch the credits?
PS: Not particularly.
[mild applause, film outro says:]
Presenter: This movie is brought to you with limited interrup-
PS: I love limited interruptions, those are the best kind of interruptions!
HB: Thoughts? Feelings? Impressions?
PS: All the awards.
JM: Four out of five.
HB & PS: Four out of five, interesting. Lost an axe.
KB: What was the question?
HB: Just thoughts, impressions!
KB: I knew that Mary was going to kill that girl, even though I never watched it, so I am so glad my prediction came true.
HB: You called it. Do you think this moive is a valuable part of the Lincoln canon? Or… is it silly nonsense? Or?
PS: I mean like, on a serious note, I think it does kind of show like, how huge, like Abe Lincoln is in our culture, so it’s valuable from that perspective. Um…
JM: I think historically it’s probably not, like, the most valuable resource I would turn to, but I was entertained, and there were certain points that they hit that I was like, yea, that’s, that’s true, that’s relevant, I can see that.
PS: I do wish they’d explored this more, but I do think that the actual idea of like, vampires being enslavers is like, kind of a legitimately interesting idea. It’s like legitimately interesting, like you’re literally sucking the life force out of someone, basically parasiting yourself off someone else… like, that’s an interesting idea, I kind of wish they’d actually run more in that direction than they ultimately did.
CW: I bet if it were written in 2025, it would be a little less white-savior-y.
[agreement all around]
JM: I was gonnna say they barely showed like, any enslaved people or like, the realities of slavery that was going on…
KB: They showed it in the beginning, but that was it…
JM: No no no no, they weren’t even enslaved people, they were just treating them poorly.
PS: I wonder if like that’s something the book actually goes more into, I wouldn’t, I don’t know…
HB: If you were going to make a movie about Abraham Lincoln, what would your twist be?
KB: That’s a tough one…
HB: Or your mashup…
JM: I would make a movie about him being an insomniac, but twist! He’s the vampire the whole time. [general laughter] And he only like can stay up during the night.
HB: So sticking with the vampire theme but leaning into the insomnia, that’s good.
JM: Or make him a werewolf!
KB: I would run with that, and put Mary as the one hunting him [general gasps], that she doesn’t know…
JM: Enemies to lovers!
HB: Like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but Abraham Lincoln and also vampires…
JM: Oh gosh, genius! Mr. & Mrs. Lincoln, boom, there’s the title!
HB: Wowww! Mr. & Mrs. Lincoln, there’s something there… [general laughter] Call someone! Jess, would you recommend this to our visitors?
JM: I would say, if you’re looking, if you’re a big Lincoln fan, you have a sense of humor, but you also hold space for the fact that this is not like, an actually like, historic thing – yea, I would recommend it. Like, have a good time watch it, be a little goofy, be a little silly…
PS: I would absolutely recommend it, ten out of ten, you should absolutely watch this absolute peak masterpiece. How did this movie not win all the Oscars? How have you not seen it? Your life will not be complete until you have watched this movie, that is going to be what I say.
KB: I would recommend it if you want to be on the edge of your feet.
[laughter]
KB: Or the edge of your seat, I’m sorry. If you wanna –
HB: Whichever one – standing, sitting, they’re on the edge!
KB: If you just want to be entertained, then yes I would recommend it.
HB: Did you enjoy it?
CW: You know…
KB: Oh my gosh Cameron!
CW: I’m not an action person… You know what I enjoyed? This is what I would recommend. I would enjoy – I enjoyed watching it with this group, and like hearing all the reactions, so I would say, if you’re wanting to sit down and like watch something by yourself, maybe don’t pick this one, if you wanna like have fun with friends, you should totally pick this one.
JM: If you like to watch moviies that are so bad it’s funny, it’s good –
CW: Yea! Exactly. It was fun, yeah.
HB: Hannah?
Hannah Urrey: Yes, but it’s scary. [general laughter]
HB: There were several jumpscares.
KB: But Hannah, listen, I don’t think anyone’s gonna be scared, it’s not that scary.
HU: There were little jumps, there were some!
KB: Just a little bit, a little bit.
JC: Have you seen Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter? Tell us what you think, we’d love to hear!
CH: Thanks for listening, and we always appreciate it when you tell a friend about the show! We’ll see you again in a week with our next full episode.
JC: This episode was produced by me, Joan Cummins, with Callie Hawkins, Haley Bryant, Jules Losee, and additional support from the President Lincoln’s Cottage team. Music for Q&Abe was written, performed, and is copyrighted by Clancy Newman.
CH: Q&Abe is made possible by listeners like you. You can support the show by joining Team Lincoln at www.lincolncottage.org, where you can also check out our other online and in-person programming. You can reach us at [email protected].
JC: President Lincoln’s Cottage is a home for brave ideas. Stay curious!
