Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) [Blu-ray]
Action | Horror | Romance

A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in this reimagining of Jane Austen's classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper class prejudice. As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join on the blood-soaked battlefield in order to conquer the undead once and for all.

Storyline: The five highly trained Bennett sisters in Georgian England must try to protect themselves from the growing zombie threat, find suitable husbands for themselves, battle marriage proposals and unlikely suitors, and save the country before it's too late. Written by Deborah Falconer

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, May 27, 2016 Note: This review is based on the 1080p Blu-ray included with the 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' UHD release. Sony did not provide a standalone retail copy of the 1080p version. Other than perhaps disc artwork, the releases should be identical.

Jane Austen is almost certainly rolling over in her grave, but if she were alive today she's also be rolling in some extra dough. The beloved 19th century author's works continue to sell and inspire new generations of readers and writers alike, with many of her novels finding successful cinematic adaptations throughout the years. But Austen's works, whether the original writings on the page or their turns on the screen, have always drawn a predominantly female audience. But with the zany reworking of her hallmark novel Pride & Prejudice to include zombies, the story's audience broadened. Author Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies became a surprise hit, injecting Austen's classic novel with a...bite it lacked before. It's so nutty it worked. The novel eventually became the film, which competes with the like of Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter as one of the most absurd historical mash-ups of all time. But does the book's success translate to quality on the screen?

19th century England resembles a medieval war zone. Aristocratic gatherings and high culture are still a staple, but London has been cut off from the rest of the world, surrounded by a vast moat meant to keep the hordes of the living dead at bay. Some still sneak through, particularly since the transformation is slow and a bite only begins the process; eating a brain finishes it. Colonel Darcy (Sam Riley) uses flies -- drawn to rotting flesh -- to pick a zombie from a high class card game, symbolizing the tense world and the dirty work necessary to keep Britons safe. But life goes on, as well as can be expected. The Bennet sisters are of marrying age, and their mother (Sally Phillips) is desperate to see them married to a wealthy suitor. Any wealthy suitor. But more than beautiful brides-to-be, they're all highly skilled in the art of war, trained in China and more than capable of holding their own against the undead, either by blade or by firearm. The girls' latest suitor is the wealthy Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth). He's immediately drawn to Jane Bennet (Bella Heathcote) while Bingley's friend Mr. Darcy finds himself drawn to the reluctant-to-marry Elizabeth (Lily James). Can love conquer all, including zombies?

In a word, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is best described as a "novelty," and one that wears out rather fast after an admittedly campy enthusiasm for its daring blend of two completely disparate genres. To the movie's credit, it plays things rather straight, refusing to go full-on Comedy, which would have certainly been the easier route to take. No, Director Burr Steers (17 Again) walks that tightrope between staying true to the story's period roots and its over-the-top The Walking Dead-ish action scenes very well. The movie's levity stays tucked underneath, not at all missable but clearly taking a backseat to the film's more serious front as it maneuvers to work in romantic angles and core Austen narrative pieces while spiking it with a zombie infestation. The film further dabbles in lore, though much of it crude: London has been sealed off by a large moat, for instance. That background helps solidify the world and give the characters something to play against. But it always feels like the movie is right on the verge of bringing up the lights with the cast collectively laughing and pointing at the audience, saying "the joke's on you!" but it holds together just well enough to keep up appearances and sell the mishmash material about as well as can be expected as stuffy costume drama maneuverings meet slick modern day action movement and effects.

The problem is that the material isn't good enough to sustain the movie for the long haul. It's enticing at first. Scrumptious, even. Creativity. Glorious creativity! There's something different out there. But the film really can't get past its name and its first few kills. There's a serious sense of repetition to the film and, as it begins to drag, a palpable desperation to sustain it by any means necessary emerges. The answer is only to further convolute the plot, mix up too many characters with too much drama with too much try-hard slick sword- and gunplay. The movie is, at one moment, Austen through-and-through. Then it wants to take a moment to transform into some over-stylized knockoff of Underworld or Kill Bill or something along those lines, and then go back to the ballrooms and courtships. And it's there that another problem arises. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies gets the Austen stuff dead-on right. The cast is terrific, the film boasts top-notch costuming and set design, all working to create a detailed and authentic Austen world. Unfortunately, the other side can't match. The film's PG-13 rating stymies the zombie side's ability to keep up, to really stretch and show the contrasts and bring the movie full circle. There's some decent zombie gore, a little bit of rotting flesh and some (literal and figurative) teeth to the walking dead, but not enough real mushy, disgusting terrors to put the movie over the top (and there are several instances where blades clearly miss their targets, and by a wide margin, but the zombie reacts as if it's been struck, anyway). That's almost certainly a decision carefully planned and implemented by the filmmakers to lure in Austen and Costume Drama fans with a more audience-friendly rating, fans who might otherwise be turned off to zombies, but it's to the overall detriment of the movie's nifty mashup.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an odd duck that doesn't really seem to have an audience beyond the curiously inclined. Costume Drama and Jane Austen fans will probably be turned off by the (even moderately tame) gore, violence, and comically absurd plot reworking. Zombie fans will quickly tire of the Costume Drama pot lines that are integral to the movie. The film works as a sometimes humorous curiosity, but it never translates into a must-see movie for either core audience. Sony's Blu-ray release of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does offer excellent video and audio. Supplements aren't groundbreaking, but there's enough here to fill up the back of the box. Worth a rental.

[CSW] -2.4-Calling this a comic tale suggests that they intentionally set out to make a comedy. This mashup of genres is comic by accident, if at all. In trying to do several things, it achieves none of them. I only have a very passing knowledge of the original Jane Austen novel. So I have no idea were this film mixes in some of the original story. This probably means that I don't fully understand what is going on, and who the principle characters are.
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box was strangely muted and didn't really help this movie.


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