Pride + Prejudice + Zombies

Pride + Prejudice + Zombies Review

Welcome to another casual review. There are no spoilers here.

I went to see PPZ in a Cineworld Unlimited screening as the film isn't released until 11/02/2016 here in Scotland. Usually these screenings are jam-packed, but this one was only half full at best. Might not be a good sign for the movie's box office takings. Anyway onto the review.


Pride + Prejudice + Zombies is romantic comedy horror directed by Burr Steers who doesn't have the best directing credits and the only one I remember is 17 Again, although he does have acting credits for both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

The film stars Lily James (Cinderella) and Sam Riley (Maleficent)(Strange movie connections there) and Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy respectively.

The world of PPZ is very much used to the notions of the living dead as it came as a result of a plague. The centre of London quarantined itself from the zombies by blowing up all bridges.

The story follows what I assume is the classic story from the original Pride & Prejudice as Elizabeth is not interested in the notion of marriage and only wishes to kill zombies. She then meets Mr Darcy and the plot turns from there.

One of my main complaints from the movie is from the main storyline as it mainly focuses on the romantic plot line. It's not bad, but we've seen it before and done much better.

It's hard to say what audience this movie is for. Romantic fans may not like the zombie violence, and zombie fans may not enjoy the romantic plot line that takes up most of the runtime.

I didn't mind it too much but I would have preferred way more scenes involving the zombies. Whenever they did appear, it was a joy to watch but those appearances were too few and far between.

I did enjoy the undead here as they had a nice, gruesome look to them and had way more intelligence than most other zombies as they could set traps for unsuspecting humans and even stop themselves from becoming feral. Not only that, but they can speak with a charming, upper-class English accent.

The first scene in this movie was a real highlight for me as it did a great job of ramping up tension while also showing some of the film's lore and, of course, some brutal zombie slaying.

Only two performances stood out to me (Darcy's strange Batman-like voice notwithstanding). The main character, Elizabeth, was a total badass as she stood her ground against all foes, human and zombie alike. She keeps up the performance all the way through until we reach some of the predictable and yawn-inducing romantic cliches that I won't spoil (though you can probably guess).

My favourite performance though, came from Matt Smith as a cousin of the Bennett sisters. Matt is of course most well known for his role as the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who, and fans of the show will definitely enjoy his performance. He easily gains the most laughs from the audience as the bumbling idiot, reminiscent of any Hugh Grant performance but without the charm.

The movie does do quite well with it's humour and is able to make the romantic storyline a bit more bearable. Nothing is laugh-out-loud funny but we do have a few giggles here and there.

Finally, without spoiling anything, the finale is a huge let down. I won't give any details but it really soured me on the whole experience and looks to be setting up a possible sequel down the line. I don't really see that happening guys.

Overall, Pride + Prejudice + Zombies is an enjoyable experience depending on your taste in movies. Horror and zombie fans may sour on the main plot line and lack of action. I think fans of romantic films might get a kick out of it seeing as it's a bit different from the norm. Still it's not long enough to totally bore you but it's a shame that it never takes advantage of it's over the top setting that could have made for amazing viewing.

Might be worth buying on Blu Ray some day.


Grade: C