Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) Movie Review

Taking Pride in Kicking Zombie Ass has never been this Fun

Directed by: Burr SteersStarring: Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston, Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Matt Smith, Charles Dance and Lena Headey

Studios: Cross Creek Pictures, Sierra Pictures, QC Entertainment, Handsomecharlie Films, MadRiver Pictures, Head Gear Films

Distributed by: Lionsgate

Plot: Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead.

I love genre mash-ups. One good example would b Tim Burton's action horror flick adaptation of 'Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter'. A mix of vampire horror, amazing stunts and fight scenes, mixed with real life events of the late president ended up being a whole lot of fun. The film may have been taking itself too serious but that didn't deter it from being a total entertainment package. This year comes another product of this ingenious genre mash-up: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This action horror-comedy film is based on a parody novel of Seth Grahame-Smith, based on Jane Austen's classic.

So How did the film turned out? Here's my review of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

A Mixed Bag of Genres

The film tries to mix multiple genres in one movie, which usually sound like a disaster. After watching it, I can say that it's 30% Romance + 30% Action + 30% Horror + 10% Comedy. At first, that may sound really disastrous. But in the case of PPZ, it actually made the whole experience weird yet enjoyable.

I love the fight scenes and stunts in the film. It really makes everything so exciting. Although the scares where scarce, they were quite effective. At least, the zombies themselves look so freaking disgusting, in a good way. They really look so scary that seeing them already adds a creepy feeling to each scene. Add in a little bit of humor and you've got the perfect concoction of every bit of these genres.

Feels like Les Miserables meets The Walking Dead

With it's choice of setting, the film actually looks a lot like Les Miserables, minus the musical numbers. although the era when both stories occurred differ, somehow the places, the looks of the characters and everything about it does look similar. From the way the characters are dressed up to the sets where the action takes place, every single bit if very detailed.






I must say that I also love the camera work done in the film, especially doing the opening scene. That helped a lot in hiding all the gore and blood which I think was not yet necessary at that early part of the movie.

Perfect Choice for Casting

Whoever came up with this cast is genius. Their choices are really good. The actors they selected really fits each character.
I love all the flirting between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. The catfights that they have about women and their skills. The confrontation that happened when Darcy approaches Elizabeth with a proposal and the latter expresses her outrage at his actions and fights him in a duel. Lily James and Sam Riley really have a good chemistry and I would love to see them together on screen again in the future. The same thing can be said for Bella Heathcote and Douglas Booth. Both of them complement each other.

Watered downed Rating
Although I really loved the movie, I must admit that it's a bit of letdown due to it's neutered PG-13 rating. I think genre fans would have loved the film it it were rated R, with all the gore and violence pushed to it's limits. But still, the film works because the film pushes it's watered downed PG-13 rating to it's boundaries, with zombie heads exploding and decaying flesh falling off zombie faces.

Verdict: For a zombie film, it really stands out amongst other trashy flicks in this overused genre. With it's even mix of love, laughs and some zombie fanfare, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is definitely worth the look.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰ 1/2 Out Of 5