Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – Five sisters in 19th century England must deal with the idea of marrying wealthy businessmen, as well as protecting themselves from a growing population of savage zombies.

My Take – Author Jane Austen‘s work is till date considered as a part of classic English literature by many, among which her novel Pride and Prejudice is probably the most popular one. So what happens when you infuse an army of flesh eating zombies into the mix? An insane premise which is filled with laughs, drama, romance & yeah of course bloody action sequences. Honestly, I never cared about Jane Austen novels or zombie movies (even though till date I keep watching them & I really don’t know why), but this movie really works, no matter how silly that might seem. If you’re tempted to dismiss this movie as disrespectful to classic literature, or history (or zombies) this is surely not that the movie for you. Based on author Seth Grahame-Smith‘s novel, the man behind the unfairly written yet insanely awesome Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), the film is a retelling of the original Pride And Prejudice, which just happens to have zombies all around. By adding zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith infused a classic romantic comedy with hand-to-hand combat and less misogyny, than Jane Austen could have imagined. The story follows Much like the characters in Jane Austen‘s original work, in this film, there’s a wealthy Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley), an army colonel whose pride is misinterpreted as arrogance by Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James), an independent young woman who tends to let first impressions and unproven stories prejudice her attitudes towards others. Darcy and Elizabeth clash at first, but eventually feel drawn to each other. UN-like Jane Austen‘s story, this is all happening as Darcy and Elizabeth are trying to fend off the zombie apocalypse. In this film’s version of history, Great Britain has become afflicted with a plague brought to its shores from its overseas empire. London has been walled off by the Grand Barrier and is further protected by the Royal Moat, a giant trench which encircles the city as well as an area of farm land known as the In-Between.

Britain’s undead roam the countryside in fairly small numbers, but are a persistent concern to the country’s landowners and there’s something different about these zombies. They’re not as fast as the flesh and brain eaters in “World War Z“, but they are more intelligent than those in TV’s “The Walking Dead“. And there are rumors that the apocalypse described in the Bible’s Book of Revelations will be a zombie apocalypse, complete with the biblical Four Horsemen and led by the Anti-Christ. For the sake of self-preservation, British families who can afford it send their children (male and female alike) to Japan or China in order to receive training in martial arts and various kinds of weaponry. Elizabeth and her four sisters are especially skilled warriors who are encouraged in their training by their father (Charles Dance). On the other hand, their mother (Sally Phillips) is more focused on marrying off all five of them as quickly as possible – so they can be protected and supported. At a nearby ball, an eligible bachelor named Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth) sets his eyes on Elizabeth’s older sister, Jane (Bella Heathcote). Soon afterward, Elizabeth is being pursued by the awkward and obnoxious Parson Collins (Matt Smith). She has no interest in the Parson, or in the growing affections of Mr. Darcy, especially after what she hears about him from a British soldier named Wickham (Jack Huston), a man from Darcy’s past. The relationships just get more complicated and more challenging as the story progresses. This is, after all, a period romance and an ongoing struggle to avoid getting eaten by the undead. The premise alone is brilliant. I know it seems tough to describe and do justice and Yes! It’s strange, but not too weird. It’s a B-movie premise that does not play like a B-movie. The first scene perfectly embodies everything that I loved about this movie. On the one hand, it feels immediately like a period piece. The costumes and production design is wonderful, and all the characters speak as if this were just Pride And Prejudice. But on the other hand, this is a brilliantly silly and excessively violent zombie parody, throwing in unexpected jump scares and spurting blood right from the start, setting up the brilliantly hilarious tone within seconds. And then, for the following 70 or so minutes, I couldn’t stop loving this movie.

Managing to maintain a consistent tone that balances the fun zombie parody with the Pride And Prejudice parody so well, telling both an action story and a romance story in the most entertaining way, with really well-written dialogue and fantastically well-directed action sequences too, and that left me with a huge grin that I just couldn’t wipe off my face. Anyone expecting the serious undertones of Ms. Austen‘s1813 novel will be disappointed but the title should have provided a pretty solid hint. While her characters and general story line act as a structure here, it’s really based on Seth Grahame-Smith‘s YA hit novel delivering zombie battles and often zany humor. Director Burr Steers (Charlie St. Cloud) directs his own adapted screenplay and seems to really be having a great time – right along with his talented cast. What’s more is that the performances are all fantastic too. Normally, good acting isn’t the sort of thing you’d expect in a zombie movie, or a parody for that matter, but everyone is right at the top of their game here. Lily James is excellent in the main role, and shows how good she can be in both a serious romantic lead (because there are a lot of moments where the romance does take center stage here), and as a great action hero, making her huge fun to watch right the way through. Sam Riley was pretty good. Bella Heathcote and Douglas Booth are each adorably earnest as the tale’s ‘other’ star-crossed lovers, and Charles Dance and Sally Phillips are deliciously slyly witty and boorishly superficial as Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. One character that does stand out to me is Matt Smith‘s portrayal of Parson Collins. I found this guy hilarious with they way he was able to make those around him cringe with his actions or just by saying whatever came into his head. He might actually be one of the best parts of the film. Jack Huston & Lena Headey were likable. Honestly, this movie was a bit of a surprise to me since I wasn’t really expecting much from it. The trailers looked alright but I didn’t know if it would be something that I would get into. I wouldn’t go so far to say that it’s an excellent film or anything like that but I did have a lot of fun with this one. The story is straight up ridiculous but if you go into it expecting a silly story with a little bit of action then I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t enjoy yourself. On the whole, ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies‘ is a perfect weekend watch thanks to its generally fantastic tone, great action, brilliant humor and excellent performances.