Anyone reviewing the Pride And Prejudice And Zombies DVD should probably take one more read of the title to ensure they’re effectively prepared for some silly zombie fun, because that’s exactly what it is. Set within the concept of Jane Austin’s classic novel, Pride And Prejudice, you can probably boil it all down to Shaun Of The Dead meets Poldark and when you look at it from this standpoint it’s hard not to have at least a little bit of a laugh at all the crazy zombie killing action.
There are still large amounts of the novel of manners that was the original book, with the same issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage among the landed gentry in Britain. Where it parts ways is the simple inclusion of zombie hordes into the mix, as the country has been overrun by the living dead thanks to a new plague, which results in human brain gobbling shufflers taking to the vales and spinneys with a bad case of the munchies.
The story isn’t quite what we’d expected as the story picks up with Colonel Darcy, his best buddy Mr. Bingley and the Bennett family in a Britain that has become very used to the existence and battle with the shambling nibblers. As such, all of the characters are highly trained killers with flawless shooting, weaponry and martial arts fighting skills, so whenever they’re faced by a zombie attack they’re pretty well equipped to deal with it fairly brutally, which adds to the fun.
The action is pretty slick with some great moves and Mortal Kombat-like finishers. The zombies are sicker than a puddle of sick on a hot day and they’ve been created with just enough speed to shuffle ratio to make them look believable, while still retaining an element of comedy appeal. It’s not a scary zombie movie, but what it lacks in fear factor, it makes up for with attack, strong ridiculous intention and the minor comedy value intrinsic to the mashup setup.
The Pride And Prejudice And Zombies cast is pretty effective with Lily James (War And Peace) leading the way well as Elizabeth Bennett. She’s done incredibly well to learn all of the martial arts needed to deliver the role and she comes across well as the slightly prejudiced stone-cold zombie killer. The same could be said of the rest of the Bennett girl cast of Bella Heathcote (The Neon Demon) as Jane Bennet, Suki Waterhouse (Billionaire Boys Club) as Kitty Bennet, Ellie Bamber as Lydia Bennet and Millie Brady as Mary Bennet.
Matt Smith (Terminator Genysis) and Sam Riley (Maleficent) are a bit too much like caricatures to impress as the fawning Mr. Collins and the overblown Colonel Darcy. On the other hand, Douglas Booth is a bit too wet as Mr. Charles Bingley, seeming more like an extra than an integral character to the plot. However, Charles Dance (Ghostbusters (2016)) and Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones’ Baby) provide some good chuckles as Mr and Mrs Bennett, Lena Headey (Dredd) gives a totally unexpected adaptation of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Jack Huston (Ben Hur (2016)) makes for a strong and manipulative Mr. Wickham.
It’s hard to say why zombies work so well within a British setting, but they just do, as has been the case with everything from the fright fest of 28 Weeks Later, World War Z and Zombie U to the comedy of Shaun Of The Dead. Maybe its the contrast to the perceived reservation and stiff, or our ability to mask a darker underbelly, but either way it’s one of the reasons the film just about pulls it off.
If you’re a big fan of the living dead then the Pride And Prejudice And Zombies DVD is well worth a watch in the very least. If you happen to like a bit of Jane Austin too then it’s right up your corset. It doesn’t impress quite as well as it could have done, but it does have enough action, comedy and manners to make it entertaining.
Pride And Prejudice And Zombies DVD review: 3/5
