By Erin Hatch, Editor
A lot of popular art these days likes to take well known source material and twist it into something new. Reboot, remix, remake or reinterpret, everything old can be new again, and hopefully seem fresh to audiences familiar with the original and eager to see the story with a new spin.
This is not one of those films.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a mashup, a brute force combination of two disparate elements that seem like they would never go together, but, hey, throw them in the blender and maybe it will work out. Mash ups have a bit of a mixed history: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Marvel vs. Capcom. Scooby Doo Meets Kiss. A Jane Austen novel and a macabre horror sub-genre? Why not? Maybe these two great tastes will taste great together.
Set in a British Regency period in which a disease from the colonies has turned the greater part of England into a wasteland of heavily fortified manors, military patrols and shambling, brain-craving, undead monsters, PPZ follows Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James, Cinderella), a young woman trained by her father to be proficient at Shaolin and swordplay, who has some trouble with her social graces and balks at her mother’s insistence that she find a husband for herself as soon as possible. She especially takes umbrage at the prospect of one Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley, On the Road) a dour zombie hunter and friend to the Bennet’s new neighbor, Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth, Jupiter Ascending). If you are familiar with Pride and Prejudice (sans Zombies), the greater plot should be vaguely familiar to you, though the specific plot points have been distorted, now darker and punctuated by fight scenes and jump scares. Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) serves as Mr. Darcy’s rival and nemesis George Wickham, while Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Sally Phillips (Burn Burn Burn) play Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) provides some comedy relief as Pastor Collins.
Taking a zombie apocalypse to the early 19th century generates an interesting world, and the art direction takes the period architecture and dresses it up in a fashion that feels authentic to both genres present. The gates and fences separating the country manors from the common folk outside are no longer simply divisive, but brutally utilitarian. Pomp and fashion have given way to security, as doors are now made of metal rather than wood, and guests enter through covert passages instead of lavish front entries. For some reason, the parties and dinners and balls go on, though every one seems to end in a massacre despite the visually impressive defensive measures. There is a bit of of social commentary here: the lower class are the most common victims of the plague, and use the disease as a means of overthrowing the elite and establishing a new social order of the undead. PPZ also gives a little new edge to the plight of Elizabeth. This young woman who struggles against the constraints levied on her sex now has an added layer of frustration as conforming to feminine expectations means giving up her weapons and combat training, making her efforts to resist a loveless marriage more desperate. Giving up her freedom may also mean giving up her life. Best not to dwell too long on the politics, though. The film doesn’t, even if the undertones are there.
PPZ works best when the two prime ingredients are equally blended, especially when the titular zombies are seen only in the ways that their existence has shaped the classic characters. Giving Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy martial arts training and having them use that training against each other to punctuate a barbed conversation evokes the same effect as staging a classic play with unexpected blocking in order to give the dialogue new meaning to a modern audience. Maybe this isn’t a deep reinterpretation, but it can be fun and interesting when it works. Unfortunately the film only hits this balance a few times, spending most of the story wobbling between the classic and the additions.
Moments of brilliance shine through the gore of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, while the rest is dominated by silliness. Of course, those who go to see the film knowing the title are probably expecting a decent degree of silliness, especially the zombie aficionados. The blunt honesty of the title should serve audiences well. The reaction to the name is a fairly good indicator of whether the movie is for you. If you are so attracted: the ingredients promised by the title are present, the atmosphere is cool, and the action is generally fun.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – 4 out of 5 sudden explosive decapitations.
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