Title: Pride Prejudice and Zombies
Released: 2016
Rated: PG-13
Pride Prejudice and Zombies had a scary way of telling if someone was a zombie, and zombies could be anywhere. If someone gets bit they become a zombie – but it isn’t always obvious that they have been bitten. Some of the zombies look normal but there were also scary zombies who were covered in blood, or decaying. I liked how they did the zombie make-up; it looked real!
Lily James (Cinderella) plays Elizabeth Bennet, one of five sisters trained in Chinese martial arts whose mother wants them all to marry off into affluent families. Elizabeth resists because she doesn’t want to get married unless she loves the man she marries. This is all set with a zombie apocalypse building up in the background, so the sisters not only fight off their suitors, but have to fight zombies who keep attacking them. Almost everyone tells the sisters that they need to turn in their swords for pots and pans – which was really stupid unless you happen to be able to kill more zombies with a frying pan.
Sam Riley plays Colonel Darcy, a soldier who has refined ways to find and kill zombies. He trusts few people and does not make friends easily. He takes some warming up to in the movie but you soon realize he cares deeply for those he protects.
Jack Huston plays Lt. Wickham, and is particularly charming and alarming at the same time. He’s a good looking guy who knows how to fight, but with just a little bite turns into a fright.
Matt Smith (Dr. Who) plays a particularly creepy Parson Collins, and he’s really good at making the character awkward and strange enough that my skin crawled when we pursues Elizabeth.
Watch out for the sound levels in the film. A quiet moment will explode into a scene that takes you off guard and makes you jump in your seat. There was one scene when a zombie mother and baby appear in the woods that is absolutely disturbing.