Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Genreally, I like zombie movies a lot because of their post- apocalyptic vibe.

Normally though, I find the genre comes in 2 distinct flavours; serious stuff like "28 Days/Weeks Later" or campy B flavoured offerings like "The Scouts Guide To The Apocalypse".

This movie however defies the genre. The closest comparisons I could make would be "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" or "Penny Dreadful" but with more humour. It follows the story of Pride and Prejudice so closely I kept looking for Keira Knightly to appear.

The production quality however is what surprised me the most; it's incredibly high with great sets, realistic costumes, lighting and cinematography. There was a lot of attention to detail.

This is a very unique and interesting mash-up which I quite enjoyed. I am surprised it's not rated higher on IMDb but I believe it deserves a watch regardless.

Greetings again from the darkness. For those high school Literature teachers struggling to get their students to embrace the classics from writers like Jane Austen, this movie won't help much. However, chances are good that those same students will enjoy this blending of 19th century British class warfare with "The Walking Dead" – likely one of their favorite shows. The zombie apocalypse has landed in the middle of Austen's prim and proper story, including the repressed attraction between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.

Anyone expecting the serious undertones of Ms. Austen's1813 novel will be disappointed … but the title should have provided a pretty solid hint. While her characters and general story line act as a structure here, it's really based on Seth Grahame-Smith's YA hit novel … delivering zombie battles and often zany humor. Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) directs his own adapted screenplay and seems to really be having a great time – right along with his talented cast. The sets, costumes, dialogue and fight scenes work together to create an unusual movie experience that will generate plenty of laughs while not dwelling on the zombies or violence (it is PG-13). Expect most critics to destroy this one because it's made simply for fun, not for art.

Of course, any Pride and Prejudice spin-off (even one with zombies) must pay particular attention to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. It turns out that Elizabeth and her four sisters are highly trained warriors raised to survive against the undead. It's even clearer for Mr. Darcy as he is billed as a zombie hunter and protector of Mr. Bingley, the rich bachelor hooked on Jane Bennett. Things get muddled by the devious Mr. Wickham, a focused Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and especially the flamboyant fop Parson Collins. The interactions between these characters bounce between loyalty, romantic attraction, emotional turmoil and hand-to-hand combat … with enough comedic elements that most viewers will find plenty of opportunities to laugh.

The talented cast is all in. They play it mostly straight (with one major exception) to achieve the balance between somber and silly. Lily James ("Downton Abbey") and Sam Riley (On the Road, 2012) are both fun to watch as Elizabeth and Darcy. They are the film's best fighters … both with swords and words. Bella Heathcoate (Dark Shadows, 2012) is "the pretty one" Jane, who is wooed by Douglas Booth (Noah, 2014) as Mr. Bingley. Lena Headey ("Game of Thrones") makes an impression in her limited screen time as an eye-patched Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Jack Huston ("Boardwalk Empire") is well cast as Wickham. Screen veterans Charles Dance and Sally Phillips take on the role of parents to the five Bennett daughters, but it's Matt Smith ("Dr Who"), who turns the film on its ear with his unconventional twist on the oddball Parson Collins, who pretty much steals each of his scenes. He had those in the theatre laughing out loud more than a few times.

Pity is the word that comes to mind for any young man who takes these Bennett girls to the prom … or more likely to one of the societal balls. The weapons hidden under their formal gowns offer fair warning to zombies and handsy suitors alike. It's this element of strong women (physically and emotionally) that might even allow Ms. Austen to appreciate what's happened to her characters … were she alive to see it.

Even though the film offers plenty of fun with laughs and action and romance, let's hope it doesn't kick off a new zombie-adaptation trend. Here are a few titles that we hope never see the big screen: Sense and Sensibilities and Zombies, War and Peace and Zombies, Crime and Punishment and Zombies, The Old Zombie and the Sea, Wuthering Zombies, Romeo and Juliet and Zombies, and Alice's Adventure in Zombieland.

Zombie infestation is spreading uncontrollably fast, they are literally everywhere, even in spin-off of Pride and Prejudice. It may sound bizarre at first, and it really is, but there's no lack of production value here. The presentation is top notch and the cast, mixed of actors from Maleficent, Cinderella, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, deliver an air of seriousness beyond that expected from a zombie movie, also with unexpected degree of humor as well.

This is still the story of British aristocrats and their so troubled lives in 19th century, though some aspects have been altered to accommodate zombies, even as far as to present backstory with heavy monologue and narration. It doesn't deter the movie from going full drama as the cast essentially creates a drama while acting like zombie killing is as the norm as sipping afternoon tea. These fine men and ladies look astoundingly fitting in the outlandishly bleak universe.

Lily James, if born into different time, might be a legitimate princess. She looks comfortably convincing as Elizabeth Bennet, the zombie hunter version of the female lead at least. Sam Riley as Darcy is proper as well, he encompasses the awkward nobility with a fervent passion. These two have strange chemistry, especially when zombies are involved, yet it's weirdly adorably amicable. Matt Smith from Doctor Who fame, can singlehandedly delivers the humor, he's simply too versatile and endearing not to have in old style England.

The humor works splendidly, there are times when sarcasm is produced just right against the backdrop of the somber tone. Its playful romance, bantering and even cringe worthy moments are pleasantly delightful. However, the jarring tone can be too distracting at times. The movie screams too hard to set grim horror, a staple flaw in horror genre and on the other side of spectrum, it's occasionally overly zealous in the drama that it becomes wallowing or slow.

An odd bite of contrasting drama and comedy, yet surprisingly enjoyable, this seemingly crazy version of Pride and Prejudice can serendipitously attract audience of many different tastes.

I had very low expectations before I see this film, mainly because of the raving bad reviews, 5.7/10 puts this movie in between bad and horrible. When I was watching it, I kept expecting the movie turn bad or boring ... never did, I mean, it is not Oscar worthy, but fairly entertaining and at times convincing. The visuals are beautiful, action sequence decent, even dialogue was made in "Pride and Prejudice" fashion ... I really don't understand where such low rating comes from. This makes me wonder how many of the reviewers have actually seen the film. IMO truly one downside of this internet age is everyone just blindly follows everyone else. No one seems to have his own opinion, or it is subject to be influenced easily at any given time.

I love it. It's hilarious and entertaining. But I will say this. If you haven't read the book or seen the old P&P series or the movie, you're going to think the dialogue is weird and the character stuff comes out of nowhere. I still think you could enjoy it though. However, if you're familiar with the source material, then this is absolutely hilarious. The way the characters solemnly speak the classic, recognizable lines from the book and in equal solemnity tack on a bit about the zombie apocalypse or Chinese martial arts is just hilarious. It's a parody in the bast way, which is to say, it's not even a parody so much as a direct transposition of the drama and characters of the original story into a ridiculous situation. Bravo.