Em for Movies - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

At last! All the subtle brilliance of Jane Austen's classic Regency era love story, now with the ghoulish zombie mayhem that it deserves. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is still the much-adored story of the Bennett sisters and their quest to find love/husbands (though ideally both) in the iniquitous and fraught society of turn-of-the-nineteenth-century Hertfordshire, which is lovely. But in this iteration, it happens to coincide with the zombie apocalypse.

Armed with daggers as sharp as her wit, Elizabeth Bennett is less impertinent but far more deadly than I'd ever seen her before. Darcy got a makeover as well as a fearsome zombie hunter; his ruthlessness and suspicion melded well with Jane Austen's terse and reluctant suitor. Seeing the two leads bandy words and even punches was truly delightful.

For such a ridiculous premise, I thought it turned out surprisingly well. The cast was exceptional; everyone seemed quite capable with the physicality and the delivery of classic dialogue in a truly absurd context. Matt Smith turned in a memorably entertaining performance as the doddering cousin and wannabe suitor of Elizabeth, and Lena Headey was captivating as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

A precept for the wise: it's still Pride and Prejudice. The addition of zombies is a fascinating twist, but ultimately this is a love story - fun, silly, gruesome at times, however still a story of boy meets girl, obstacles abound, and love simply must conquer all. By removing the head and stomping on it when necessary.

If a restrictive and hierarchical English society wasn't enough of an obstacle to Elizabeth and Darcy, can a horde of the ravenous undead really stand a chance? I give Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a blueberry tea. You can pretend it's classy all you like, but you're really just in it for the buzz.

Cheers,
Em