Regency resurrections abound in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an oversaturated genre in possession of a loyal fan base must be in want of a fresh gimmick. However little known the feelings or views of such an audience may be on their first entering a new mash-up, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the studio executives, that they will consider licensing any property offering even the faintest hope of a prosperous match.

“Pride And Prejudice And Zombies” may have been the first of author Seth Graeme-Smith’s literary cross-breeds to be published but it’s the second to make it to the screen after 2012’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”. While it’s far more successful than the Civil War action-adventure but it still suffers from the nagging doubt that instead of having one great movie to watch, you’re missing out on two better movies: a pretty good adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel and a really interesting zombie apocalypse film set in the Regency.

The added complication of the zombie invasion is added into the existing structure of the story with some care and so you can actually enjoy this as Jane Austen story but it’s in the zombie story that the movie really intrigues but also fails to deliver on its promise. The idea of a zombie apocalypse occurring within a historic setting is rich with possibilities and potential, especially in the way such a class-driven and rigidly structured society would view and respond to such an outbreak but as the two stories progress, the film starts to become constrained…corseted, if you will, by the necessities of “Pride and Prejudice” and it’s the zombie aspect which suffers. Fascinating ideas are left half explored, especially around those who are resisting full zombification, leading to an effective class structure evolving amongst the undead to mirror that of the living.

The cast are decent enough, although Sam Riley is an underwhelming and uncharismatic Mr Darcy and would struggle to command a straight adaptation of the novel, let alone one which requires Darcy to be a formidable slayer of the undead. Ex-“Doctor Who” Matt Smith is a scene-stealing hoot as Parson Collins while Lily James makes a sparky and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer“-esque Elizabeth Bennett and Douglas Booth brings his top cheekbone game to Mr Bingley. Charles Dance adds some much-needed grit and gravitas to the otherwise pretty young cast although his “Game Of Thrones” co-star Lena Headey is wasted and quite wooden as the lifelessly piratical Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

There’s still fun to be had but “Pride And Prejudice and Zombies” is likely to leave both Austen fans and devotees of the undead unsatisfied at the comedy horror’s lack of bite.

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies
Score 6/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Sinners (2025) Review

Sinners (2025) Review

Sinners leaves vampire cinema beaten black and blues. Between Nosferatu and Sinners, vampires and sex are having quite the cinematic renaissance this year, but where Nosferatu focussed its eldritch energy on exploring the repression and subjugation of female sexuality, Sinners is very...

Su’Kal

Su'Kal

Su'Kal is a lump of coal in the Star Trek Discovery stocking this Christmas. *SPOILERS* “Su'Kal” picks up where “Terra Firma Part 2” left us: at Georgiou’s entirely undeserved and hagiographic memorial service. It’s fitting, I suppose, that it’s all based on Burnham withholding...

The Mule (2019) Review

The Mule (2019) Review

The law may be an ass, but The Mule is a real donkey. It’s someone disingenuous for something this uninspired to proclaim it's ‘inspired by a true story’ but that doesn’t seem to discourage notorious empty chair haranguer Clint Eastwood from making a film for reactionary old men who like...

Doctor Who: Once, Upon Time Review

Doctor Who: Once, Upon Time Review

Once, Upon Time sees Chibnall take a sledgehammer to the mirror of time Where WAR OF THE SONTARANS saw Chibnall in more or less traditional DOCTOR WHO story-telling mode, ONCE, UPON TIME sees him throw the storytelling rulebook out the window for a crazy-paving time-fractured...

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets (2017) Review

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets (2017) Review

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets is a ray of sci-fi sunshine Luc Besson’s Space Oddity opens with a suitably inspirational opening as the story of Alpha (the eponymous City Of A Thousand Planets) is told through an evolutionary montage which nods to both Kubrick and...

The Visit (2015) Review

The Visit (2015) Review

But Grandma - what a big plot twist you have... “The Visit” disturbed me in a couple of ways and only one of them was the effect Shyamalan was aiming for. I’ll tell you why, but it’s going to get into super-spoilery territory, so you have been warned (and will be again, because this is M...

Highlander II – The Quickening (1991) Review

Highlander II - The Quickening (1991) Review

Highlander II: The Quickening really lets the audience experience the crushing tedium of immortality. Commiserating thirty years since it debuted in UK cinemas, HIGHLANDER II – THE QUICKENING remains the lowest low water mark for sequels in cinema history. No other film has ever betrayed...

Stranger Things Season 3

Stranger Things Season 3

ʍǝıʌǝᴚ 3 uosɐǝS sƃuıɥ⊥ ɹǝƃuɐɹʇS After the copy and paste approach to an underwhelming second season of the Duffer Brothers 80s sci-fi homage, a new tactic was desperately required to freshen up Netflix’s major USP to prevent stagnation. The good news is that the show’s creators haven’t...