Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

Directed by: Burr Steers | 108 minutes | action, horror, romance | Actors: Lily James, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote, Ellie Bamber, Milly Brady, Suki Waterhouse, Doublas Booth, Sally Phillips, Charles Dance, Jack Huston, Lena Heady, Matt Smith, Emma Greenwell, Eva Bell, Aisling Loftus, Charlie Anson, Tom Lorcan

Jane Austen’s book Pride & Prejudice has got to be the most filmed and rewritten book in literary history. There are faithful – and therefore much loved – adaptations, such as the 1995 miniseries (starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet) and the 2005 version by Joe Wright with Keira Knightley. But countless writers and filmmakers took inspiration from Austen’s classic novel. There is a Bollywood version (‘Bride & Prejudice’, 2004) and writer Heather Lynn Rigaud moved the events in 18th century England to the world of sex, drugs and rock & roll in “Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star”.

One of the most successful adaptations you can find in the bookstore is ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’, by Seth Grahame-Smith. The book came out in 2009, the film adaptation was still a few years away. Grahame-Smith’s book was a typical case of good timing, the mash-up genre is already somewhat passé in films. Funnily enough, ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’, also by Grahame-Smith, was published later as a book than ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’, but was shown much earlier.

England is infested with zombies. The plague means that everyone must be trained in martial arts and other combat sports in order to survive a possible attack. So are the Bennet sisters, who have received the necessary lessons from their father. Mother Bennet is more concerned about the financial future of her daughters and is busy looking for a suitable party. The arrival of mr. Bingley is therefore called and no one can be happy when it turns out that he is very interested in the eldest daughter Jane, and vice versa. Meanwhile, Elizabeth meets the haughty Mr. Darcy, and the family is visited by Cousin Collins, who wants to propose to Elizabeth.

The great thing about the film adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ is that the story of Jane Austen is followed well enough and that the addition of zombies is seamless as a whole. Nowhere does it feel like the zombies have been added haphazardly, they also have real added value in this story. The ratio is just right: more zombie scenes would have distracted too much from the story and character development.

The casting is also commendable. Lily James is a delight: Of course, Elizabeth has always been a woman with balls, but here she is totally badass. Her co-star Sam Riley might be more impressive as James Macfadyen in the Joe Wright film, and Bella Heathcote as Jane Bennet is also a good choice. Charles Dance (Mr. Bennet), Sally Phillips (Mrs. Bennet) and Matt Smith (Parson Collins) are also more than adequate.

‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ doesn’t get scary anywhere, this could be a great first zombie movie for a fourteen or fifteen year old (it’s even more fun if they already know one of the good films), but also as a date movie this film is very suitable. Much better than you might expect based on the first impression.