After several years in development, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is finally here. Based on the book by the author who subsequently penned Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, PPZ is, in short, exactly the kind of movie you might imagine based on its title.
Here's my capsule review of the movie:
In 1813, Jane Austen published "Pride and Prejudice," a book that would go on to inspire readers the world over for decades, if not centuries, to come. Then, in 2009, author Seth Grahame-Smith added zombies to the mix — and, well, the rest is literary history. Enter Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, writer/director Burr Steers' spirited adaptation of Grahame-Smith's bestselling book, which posits an alternate reality where the deceased have mysteriously risen up and overrun the land, turning 19th century England into a blood-soaked battleground and ordinary citizens — like Austen's much-beloved heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James), her older sister Jane (Bella Heathcote) and their three younger kin (Ellie Bamber, Millie Brady and Suki Waterhouse) — into Shaolin-trained warriors battling to stave off the zombie apocalypse. Surprisingly, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does a stellar job capturing the essence of Austen's well-worn narrative, while injecting a healthy portion of modern, fantasy-oriented sensibility into the proceedings. However, when it comes to the film's ability to satisfy fans of zombie horror, moviegoers hoping for some gory zombie dismemberment will have to settle for jump scares, quick-cut violence and off-camera kills instead. Still, as long as you don't mind the blood, guts and entrails being kept to a minimum, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is quite the rollicking good time, and every bit the bizarre genre mash-up its offbeat title makes it out to be.
Click here for my full review.
Film Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Here's my capsule review of the movie:
In 1813, Jane Austen published "Pride and Prejudice," a book that would go on to inspire readers the world over for decades, if not centuries, to come. Then, in 2009, author Seth Grahame-Smith added zombies to the mix — and, well, the rest is literary history. Enter Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, writer/director Burr Steers' spirited adaptation of Grahame-Smith's bestselling book, which posits an alternate reality where the deceased have mysteriously risen up and overrun the land, turning 19th century England into a blood-soaked battleground and ordinary citizens — like Austen's much-beloved heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James), her older sister Jane (Bella Heathcote) and their three younger kin (Ellie Bamber, Millie Brady and Suki Waterhouse) — into Shaolin-trained warriors battling to stave off the zombie apocalypse. Surprisingly, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does a stellar job capturing the essence of Austen's well-worn narrative, while injecting a healthy portion of modern, fantasy-oriented sensibility into the proceedings. However, when it comes to the film's ability to satisfy fans of zombie horror, moviegoers hoping for some gory zombie dismemberment will have to settle for jump scares, quick-cut violence and off-camera kills instead. Still, as long as you don't mind the blood, guts and entrails being kept to a minimum, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is quite the rollicking good time, and every bit the bizarre genre mash-up its offbeat title makes it out to be.
Click here for my full review.
Film Rating: 3.5 out of 5
