Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

2016. Directed by Burr Steers. 

• Acting: 4 out of 5 brains
• Writing/Dialogue: 5 out of 5 brains
• Make-up/Gore: 4 out of 5 brains
• Fighting/Special Effects: 5 out of 5 brains
• Costumes: 4.5 out of 5 brains
• Relevance to Original Pride and Prejudice: 5 out of 5 brains
• Personal Rating: 4.5 out of 5 brains
• Average of Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 brains

Okay this was a pretty darn good movie. It featured in 2016 so the effects are believable and the gore isn't too much but not too little. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is actually entertaining and not at all painful to watch. The only reason I didn't give the movie 5 out of 5 brains is because I didn't really like their actor selection of Sam Riley as Darcy. Overall, it was fairly close to the original Pride and Prejudice plot line and characterization. Of course, they had to leave out and change a few minor details or characters for the sake of movie production. If you were unaware, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was originally a novel, but I haven't read it so I am unaware how well the movie portrays the book. 

But basically what happens is that there was a zombie outbreak in the U.K., forcing what was left of the population to the safety of London, where walls were built to protect the city. People have to go on with life obviously, and to do so some choose to train to fight zombies. The Bennett's are one of many families that take pride in their zombie killing training, and they have some serious skill.  Our protagonist, Elizabeth Bennett, is an outspoken, intelligent, and deadly young woman. At a party she meets a man named Mr. Darcy, whom upon talking to, immediately dislikes due to his arrogance. But at the same party, Jane, Elizabeth's sister and Mr. Darcy's best friend, Mr. Bingley, start to fall in love. Before Mr. Bingley has time to propose to Jane, Mr. Darcy convinces him to leave, causing all sorts of drama. All the while this happens, the zombie sightings are increasing, and to suppress the zombies, a man named Mr. Wickham has an idea of how to domesticate the zombies. 

I won't say any more because I don't want to give any spoilers and I want everyone to watch the movie! If you want to see an official summary and a short trailer, you can find the IMDb page here. Some may think that since it's supposed to be romantic they won't like it, but there isn't many romantic moments. And when things do get romantic, they get violent too. Like slashing necks and shooting heads off violent. 

While watching Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I was reminded of Day of the Dead (1985) for two reasons. One, both movies have a strong female lead. Not only are Elizabeth and Sarah the protagonists, they both fight the zombies physically. It goes without saying that female protagonists are more common today in 2016 than they were in 1985, but it is still refreshing to see women fighting evil with their fists (or guns). Two, in both movies there was an attempt to domesticate the zombies. In Day of the Dead, they domesticated Bub through positive reinforcement. And in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, zombies were "automatically" domesticated if they had never eaten human flesh and consistently calmed their hunger with pig brains. In both films the characters wanted to use the domesticated zombies as a weapon against the flesh-feeding zombies.

In terms of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as a movie in the zombie canon, I don't think this movie was highly influential or at least from what I can see. Especially since it is based off of a book, which was also based off of a book. The movie may not be very influential but I do think it is fairly well known. Maybe it isn't the first zombie movie that pops into your head, and maybe only a small percentage of people have watched it, but still, you've probably at least heard the title before. And that's something :)

I watched the movie on the youtube on fire website, but who knows what that site does to your computer. Either way, WATCH THE MOVIE. Computer virus or not, it's worth it :) Trust me.