Trying to combine action and horror genres into a period romance is not something that’s worked well in the past with obvious missteps like any number of failed attempts to adapt The Three Musketeers or even something as recent as Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak. Yet, the concept of Grahame-Smith’s popular book works better as an action film than it does as a novel. Adapted and directed by Burr Steers, the filmmaker behind the indie fave Igby Goes Down and a couple Zac Efron films, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies works first and foremost because he finds just the right balance between the two disparate elements that makes it seem almost natural for the story of Elizabeth Bennett (Lily James) and her sisters to be transplanted into a world of zombies. But this isn’t just a simple edict of “Let’s throw a bunch of zombies into Austen’s story,” because there’s some actual world-building involved to explain how people can be killed by a zombie but not fully transform until they actually eat someone else’s brains. This may not seem very important until later in the film when we encounter “unturned zombies” who look horrific but still have their faculties in terms of being able to live a normal life. In this case, the Bennett girls are more than just boy-crazy young women hoping to find rich and handsome suitors; they’ve all been trained in the martial arts to help fight the zombies that have permeated their world. Following her role last year as Disney’s Cinderella, Lily James makes a fairly kick-ass Elizabeth Bennett, dealing with the same conflicts from Austen’s book, as she’s being pursued by a series of undesirable men while her sisters desperately try to find husbands. All of them have an eye on the real prize, the wealthy Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth) who immediately is stricken by Lizzie’s beautiful sister Jane (Bella Heathcoate), while Lizzy herself is constantly encountering the brusque Captain Darcy (Sam Riley), who seems to have as little interest in her as she does he. The youngest Bennett girl Lydia (Ellie Bamber) has her sights set on the dashing soldier George Wickham (Jack Huston), but he also has his eyes on Lizzy, and then along comes the Parson Collins (Matt Smith), who will take what he can get but is most interested in Lizzy. The complex romantic entanglements are deliberately faithful to Austen’s novel and its previous adaptations, but then every once in a while, a zombie or two will show up to disrupt the romantic encounters and marital dealmaking. At times, it’s surprising how funny and entertaining the movie is, especially if you’re familiar with Austen’s original work, as there are points when the movie takes specific conversations directly from the book, except in most cases, the dialogue is being said in the middle of a martial arts fight. Steers rounds out the mostly British cast with two ringers with Charles Dance playing Mr. Bennett and his Game of Thrones daughter Lena Headey as Lady Catherine, Darcy’s aunt who also happens to be a formidable zombie hunter herself. Beyond the great ensemble cast, Steers has made a film that’s reverential to the epic nature of period costume dramas that have come before but never skimps on the gore or action one expects from a zombie movie. This is quite an accomplishment in itself, but it does lead to a question some might have, which is: who might want to watch Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Certainly women familiar with Austen’s books who can also appreciate The Walking Dead. Also, fans of Matt Smith’s turn as Doctor Who should find a lot to enjoy here. It also delivers the Shakespearean level of theatrics found in the better Underworld movies. The results are fantastically fun and clever, surprisingly so at times, because the marketing focuses so much on the zombies and martial arts it’s likely to lose those who may just want to watch a fun take on Austen’s tale if set in an alternate universe.
title: “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies Review” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Wonda Tilford”
Surprisingly, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies functions better as a Jane Austen adaptation than a slice of scary cinema. Lily James plays Elizabeth Bennet with an air of fierce charisma throughout, and her main plotline – the battle for her hand in marriage, as per the source material – captures the attention for the most part. I was just as engaged in this matrimonial melodrama as I was with last year’s notably flesh-eater-free Far From The Madding Crowd adaptation, which is a fair achievement. It’s just a shame that the meant-to-be-frightful fare doesn’t blend in with this too well. If you thought World War Z pushed the traditional conventions of zombie behaviour too far, you’ll be truly riled by Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’s approach. Not only do these zombies run, but they’re also capable of talking and retaining huge amounts of humanity if they resist the urge to eat human brains. This feels odd throughout, particularly when Elizabeth tries to have a conversation with a zombie that she used to know, only for someone else to shoot its head off. Bizarre. The scene directly before this, where Sam Riley’s Colonel (not just Mr) Darcy arrives to a high society gathering, beheads an incognito zombie and punts his head across the room, is also rather fun. Before the initial shock subsides, it must be said that there are some chuckles to be had at the basic idea of the undead infiltrating period fiction. The problem is, that once you’ve seen one of the Bennet girls (all of whom have now had some serious warrior training) bludgeon a zombie, you then sit through rehashes off the same idea. And, since the film fights hard to stay within the constraints of its 15 rating, the gore doesn’t increase at all over the film’s long-seeming 108-minute running time. You don’t get the imaginative zombie kills of Shaun Of The Dead here; you tend to just see them get whacked and then falling over. The film actually works better when the zombies aren’t in it, especially with Elizabeth’s new samurai-esque skillset meaning that her fallings-out with Darcy are no longer just verbal. One of the movie’s best scenes is when they come to blows in a zombie-free third act confrontation, which is rather telling of how underwhelming the gore-lite zombie battles become. Steadily stealing the show along the way is Matt Smith. While the rest of the film tries to imagine what Pride & Prejudice would look like as an American horror/action hybrid, Smith’s Collins keeps one foot firmly in British humour at all times. He feels like he’d be more at home in Carry On Up The Zombie Apocalypse – asking for more scones at inopportune moments and taking a huge pratfall in a very serious scene – which is a welcome change of pace to the action that dominates the film. All in all, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies isn’t great. It feels overlong, the reimagining of zombie lore feels unnecessarily complicated, and there are approximately 17 too many gore-free zombie battles. Matt Smith’s comedy will keep you entertained, though, as will Lily James’ fierce central performance. It’s worth a watch, but never has quite as much fun as its title suggests it might. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
