Zombies have taken over the world. Literally. Pop culture has become fascinated with the idea of a zombie (or really any other monster) apocalypse in recent years and now it seems like they’re everywhere. We have TV shows (The Walking Dead, iZombie, How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse), movies (I Am Legend, Resident Evil, Dawn of the Dead), video games (Call of Duty, Dead Rising, Dying Light) and books (The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z). Nothing is safe from the zombie apocalypse, not even Jane Austen’s 19th century novel Pride and Prejudice.
For those of you who have not read/seen Pride and Prejudice, the story line is pretty simple: an overly-concerned mother, Mrs. Bennet, is desperate to marry off her five unwed daughters before her husband dies. When the young and handsome (and very rich) Mr. Bingley moves into the house nearby the mother springs at the chance to get rid of one of her daughters. For the eldest daughter, Jane, and Mr. Bingley, it was love at first sight. For the second eldest daughter, Elizabeth “Lizzy,” and Mr. Bingley’s best friend, Mr. Darcy, it was incredible hate at first sight. Darcy thinks the Bennet family is below his friend and convinces Bingley to pursue other options (say, for example, Darcy’s sister). Lizzy’s hate for Darcy intensifies after a soldier by the name of George Wickham tells her of Darcy’s role in breaking her sister’s heart. However, as Lizzy and Darcy are forced to spend more and more time together due to circumstances out of their control, they put aside their pride and prejudices and fall in love.
A fairly straightforward plot, wouldn’t you agree? Now add zombies to it.
The movie actually does a good job of explaining the presence of zombies in the early 19th century. The virus that turns people into zombies was supposedly picked up in the New World and carried back to Europe. The virus itself doesn’t turn people into mindless, killing machines; it just makes them crave human brains. A person actually doesn’t turn into what we would consider a zombie until he/she eats his/her first human brain. Until they eat their first human brain, zombies actually retain a high level of intelligence and ability to think. And, unlike many other adaptations of zombies, all zombies in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies have the ability to speak.
In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Lizzy (Lily James) and her four sisters (Bella Heathcote, Ellie Bamber, Millie Brady and Suki Waterhouse) are warriors trained in the art of killing zombies. Their family isn’t necessarily poor, but their father (Charles Dance) sent them to train in China (which he argues teaches better overall technique) rather than Japan, where most wealthy families send their children. For that reason, many people in the village look down on them, including well-renowned monster hunter, Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley). However, the girls prove time and time again to be effective zombie slayers.
I was a little wary of this movie at first. Pride and Prejudice is one of the classics and I really didn’t want to see it ruined by a pop culture fad. But I must admit, I enjoyed the presence of zombies immensely. As if this story wasn’t already dramatic enough, zombies add a layer of urgency and seriousness to the story while also allowing for humorous exchanges between characters. I was afraid that zombies would force the story to be modernized, but much of the plot is exactly the same as the original without any drastic changes. The biggest alterations to the story are Darcy’s backstory and, surprisingly, George Wickham’s (Jack Huston) character.
Fans of Pride and Prejudice will be pleased to know that many scenes keep the same exact dialogue found in the original book and, as weird as it is to say this, the zombies add even more romance to the story. Who doesn’t love an intense fist-fight scene between love interests, complete with broken furniture, ruined clothes and bruised egos? And of course the presence of zombies constantly puts characters in life or death situations that make for some pretty passionate and romantic sacrifices and declarations of love.
I wish I could go into greater detail on the plot of the story, but I’m afraid doing so would take away from the pleasure of experiencing it first-hand, which is why I encourage everyone to see it. For being a parody, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does a respectful job of staying true to the emotions and intents of the original while also painting it in a new and light-hearted light. I highly recommend it to fans of romance or zombies or both!