"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" - Review

A Little Too Much Pride

This concept is ridiculous. I remember when this book was popular how ever many years ago that it began to top the best seller lists and my high school friends were swearing by it. I picked up the book and I skimmed through it. I was familiar with with the original Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen so seeing zombies randomly show up in the original text of the novel was absolutely goofy and hilarious to me. It was such a random but subtle kind of parody that was completely infectious, no pun intended. When I heard years ago that people were attempting to make a movie, I was very excited. I expected it to be an absolutely hysterical farce of a movie. The idea is so silly that I thought it would lend itself to a great parody film. What we got with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is not that. There are silly moments to be had, but the film actually takes itself rather seriously. It invests itself in the romance and tries for legitimate zombie action. Because of this, the movie loses focus and it becomes a very odd mix of tones. Is this supposed to be funny or not? There is definitely a guilty pleasure element to some of this, but not enough.

I will not bother going into the plot very much. If you do not know Pride and Prejudice, then this movie is not for you. It follows the similar beats of Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters obsessing over who they should marry in old 1800's England. Except here they also are skilled warriors who fight zombies that just wander around in the woods outside their house. This is absolutely bonkers and sometimes ideas pop up that are completely ludicrous. When these characters talk about their "warrior training in China and Japan", it is ridiculous and the dead pan seriousness of the delivery works well. There are not enough of these moments though. There are sprinklings of these moments throughout, but in the end this movie takes itself a little too seriously for its own good.

The one person who seems in on the joke is Matt Smith. The script gives him nothing interesting, but he makes it interesting by making his character completely goofy and flamboyant. I really wish the rest of the cast had the same idea or that the filmmakers intended this from the start. Given the direction that they are given, the rest of the cast does fine with the material. Lily James is a great screen presence and I am anxious to see where else her career takes her. She plays a great Elizabeth Bennet here with just enough intelligence and independence to balance her beauty and romantic needs.

The saving grace with the film that makes it a bit more fun than the script allows is the zombie action. I have to admit, I have fun with nearly anything with zombies in it. There's a certain thrill to seeing these creatures onscreen making havoc. So when there are zombie battles and exploding heads and whatnot, it's hard not to smile. There are some great zombie scares scattered throughout and a surprising amount of shocking gore for a PG-13 flick. However, there are some sequences, notably a scene in a basement in the dark, that are rather poorly handled. The shots are claustrophobic and the editing is jumbled. It is very apparent here that it was shot this way to hide the more graphic violence in order to get the PG-13. If you hide the gooey gore and red blood in shadows and quick edits, you can bypass the censors. The choice makes sense, but it hurts the film. It compromises the experience and disrupts the flow of the film. Many of the action sequences seem to end within seconds like the filmmakers were afraid to show prolonged violence on screen. Some of the violence makes it and it is a lot of fun, but one wonders what could have been if the expectations of a rating that allows children to see the film were not applied.

This is a decent movie. It has many fun elements, but they never gel like they should. The film never truly acknowledges just how silly the idea is. I wanted the film to revel in it. I wanted to laugh my lungs out. Instead I chuckled at some of the weird bits of dialogue and the zombie violence. It is a disappointment, but not without its moments. It was still worth the watch.

Grade: C+.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is now playing in theaters.