Filmmaker and recent University of Illinois graduate Chris Lukeman is bracing himself for the criticism he's likely to receive for his latest film, to be released on the Internet today, Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.

In "The Transient," the 16th president is a vampire who wants to suck the blood of four-score-and-seven virgins so he can return to life and run for president.

It might just be one of the most irreverent takes on America's favorite president. However, Lukeman and producer Anne Shivers, a UI senior majoring in history, assure us that they mean no harm.

Nor do they make any political or anti-Lincoln statements.

"You can criticize the premise, but he's the most dignified character in the movie, regardless of the fact that he's the antagonist," said Lukeman, now a second-year student at the Southern Illinois University School of Law.

Lukeman, 24, said he and Shivers, who both grew up near Springfield, like playing with the place of history in pop culture and "using some of the emotional baggage that people have with Lincoln and having fun with it."

"He's really one of the few 'rock stars' of American history," Shivers said in a news release. "He's a larger-than life figure to every American, which makes him an ideal character to put in a movie like this."

And "The Transient," shot entirely in Champaign-Urbana, remains historically accurate in at least one respect: Eighty percent of the lines spoken by Michael Krebs, a nationally known Lincoln interpreter who portrays Vampire Abraham Lincoln, are verbatim, vintage Lincoln.

Krebs, an official Lincoln presenter for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum Bicentennial Celebration today, was doubly suited for the role of the vampire Lincoln. The 6-foot 4-inch Krebs not only strongly resembles President Lincoln but also once played a vampire on stage.

When he auditioned for "The Transient," Krebs still had his set of vampire teeth that he had had made for his stage role, Lukeman said. He used those for the film.

All of the other cast members in "The Transient" – an homage, if not to Lincoln, to '80s action-horror-comedy films, are UI students, alumni and community members. Playing the title role of "The Transient" is Dave Ruthenberg, and his caseworker, Steve, is played by Blake Stubbs. Ruthenberg's character, a "homeless vigilante," and Steve try to thwart vampire Lincoln and his gang of 1980s punks.

So far the 25-minute "The Transient" has been shown at three film festivals. In September it won an award from the Route 66 Film Festival in Springfield, which seeks more entries on Lincoln, according to Lukeman.

"The Transient" was written by Lukeman, a former Illini Film and Video Club president who directed the feature-length "The University of Illinois vs. A Mummy." It has been shown several times locally and on UI-7, the UI's cable television channel.

For "The Transient," though, Lukeman gave the real Abraham Lincoln a writing credit as well because of all of the appropriated quotes.

"It's really funny at some of the screenings because you can tell when people really know Lincoln because they'll be the only ones laughing at a line," the director said.

To watch "The Transient" online, go to www.killvampirelincoln.com or Google "Transient Lincoln vampire."