PRIDE + PREJUDICE + ZOMBIES Is A Hilarious Genre Mash-Up

Like star Lily James said herself, it shouldn’t work, but it does. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is catchy by it’s name alone. What could have potentially turned into an awfully overdone film, a la Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter which currently is 35% rotten, turned into a thoroughly enjoyable thrill ride that is no short of laughs.

Perhaps what I loved most about this film was that it didn’t take itself seriously. It doesn’t try to be a jump-scare type of film. The things that are suppose to creep and gross you out, do just that without resulting into anything over the top. There is such comedic charm throughout the whole film, that the cast shines as action heroes/heroines with great timing. I really do have to commend the writers work in keeping the tone and dialogue very much in the time period, but inserting hilarious talk of the walking dead.

Now, I’ve never seen or read Pride and Prejudice, so I can’t comment on the similarities with the source material. I did see a tweet that said they were giddy with how many Jane Austen-isms were included. The dialogue and the underlying theme of all the Bennet sisters being married off are still there. It makes for some pretty hilarious moments in which Lily James, Matt Smith and Sam Riley all stand out.

Matt Smith is perhaps the best character in this film. He is so undeniably hysterical all throughout the film that you can’t wait for his Mr. Collins to pop in again. Lily James was an actress I had only seen in Cinderella. I liked her in that film but she’s really spectacular in this movie. She’s witty and charming and super badass. She reminded me of a 19th century Buffy. Lena Heady also makes an appearance as Lady Catherine and once again does too well of a job playing an intimidating character. Her Game of Thrones costar Charles Dance also is in the film.

The special effects in the film were very well done and the zombies were completely original. It was nice to see a change from the typical zombie film. The undead in this world can still talk and remain fairly human until eating their first bit of human brains. It was quite an interesting take on a common monster and aided in some key moments.

I really loved this film. They did a fantastic job and this is a great start to horror films for 2016. If you were excited for this film, you won’t be disappointed. If you were at all on the fence about this film, go see it, you really won’t regret it.