Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Some movies seem determined to fail no matter how much they have going for them. Take Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for example. This had to be one of the greatest mashups ever, taking one of literature’s best heroines, Elizabeth Bennet, and making her an ass-kicking slayer of the undead. And the book is still set during England’s Regency Era, with all its rituals and customs existing alongside zombie attacks. Then there’s the cast, which boasts names like Lily James, Bella Heathcote, Charles Dance, Lena Headey, and Matt Smith. But after giving us a few good moments, the movie decides to mess with a good thing (a perfect thing really). While the book was a careful, line for line rewrite which gleefully, seamlessly paired manners and dismemberment, the film adaptation removes much of what made its source material so fun in the first place. It refuses to let its premise stand on its own and expands the story to a bigger stage, adding in a baffling subplot involving intelligent zombies that’s barely even taken advantage of. Worse, this puzzling lack of trust also means that one of the greatest love stories of all time comes off as rather flat. So if you’re a fan of any of the many genres “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” incorporates, avoid the movie like the zombie plague. You won’t regret it.
(Andrea Thompson)
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