The Small Fries

This week a timeless classic with a twist hit theaters: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Based off the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith that was released in 2009, this movie takes the classic by Jane Austen and adds the gruesome details of a zombie apocalypse. From the casting to costumes to special effects, PPZ was far from disappointing, but it was still not without its faults. The cast was full of familiar faces who all did exceedingly well with bringing their characters to life and adding their own special twist to them.

The sisters Bennett, ready to show what they're made of.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains,” or so the opening line of both the book and the movie tells us. Immediately the movie diverges from the book when we first meet Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy (played by Sam Riley) clad in leather, as he heads to a bridge party. He had a tip that someone was bitten by an unmentionable (zombie). This causes unrest at the party as Darcy sits down and releases flies that can detect dead flesh. Suddenly we see Darcy turn into a complete badass as he breaks a glass, stabbing the guy, slicing his throat, and then ultimately ending his life by stomping on his head. I can honestly say I did not see that coming from Mr. Darcy.

From Left: Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy and Douglas Booth as Charles Bingley

While the credits are rolling, we learn about how the zombie plague came about and the basic history of England since. All this being narrated by our dear Mr. Bennett who is played by Charles Dance. Many of you will know him as Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones, and trust me, he is more likeable in this role. We finally meet all the lovely Bennett sisters, who are all skillfully trained in martial arts and war. Lily James plays our heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, and she does a great job bringing such an iconic and strong female character to life. The movie then continues to run parallel to the book as we learn Mr. Bingley (played by Douglas Booth) has moved to Netherfield, there’s a ball in Meryton where we meet Darcy and Bingley, and then a zombie attack. Here we see just how BA and awesome the Bennett sisters are as they slay some zombies, and I think this is the moment where Darcy fell in love with Lizzy.

Lily James as Elizabeth Bennet putting her training to the test

Soon after we meet Mr. Collins. Excuse me, Parson Collins. The role of Mr. Collins could not have been cast more perfectly. Just when I thought the character couldn’t get any more comical, Matt Smith proved me wrong. Many of you will know Matt Smith from one of his previous roles, the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who. Everyone knows Mr. Collins to be the ridiculous suitor of Lizzy and doting parson for Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Seeing Matt Smith take this character and insert him into a zombie apocalypse was something I didn’t know I needed to see until now. Honestly, he stole every scene that he was in and brought out his awkward and ridiculous qualities even more. From him proposing to Lizzy to paying Lady Catherine all the right compliments to being obsessed with Mr. Darcy, I never stopped laughing at Parson Collins.

Matt Smith as the ridiculous Mr. Collins

Speaking of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I just want to say I LOVED her. For those of you that are familiar with the original movie and/or book, Lady Catherine is detestable. She hates Elizabeth and the idea of her and Darcy being together. She looks down on everyone who isn’t her, and makes it known what she thinks of them. In this version, she is supposed to be this BA warrior who is known throughout England for what she’s done against the zombie hordes. Lena Headey, currently known as Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones, is our Lady Catherine. What’s not to love about Lena playing a likeable version of Cersei? However, some of her characterization fell a little short for me. Donning an eye patch and having just enough sass to keep the character recognizable, I am slightly disappointed in her story line. Considering the changes the writers made from this book to the movie, I was hoping they would add more scenes to show her kicking some zombie butt to show her skill as a fighter. We were just expected to take everyone’s word for it.

All hail Lena Headey as Lady Catherine de Bourgh

One character that I would hate to leave out is the beloved Mr. Wickham, played by Jack Hutson. In Pride and Prejudice, he is just Darcy’s rival that we only see a few times in the book and we learn later why Darcy hates him so much. Though the rivalry is still there in this movie, we see Wickham even more. He is actually at the center of the zombie uprising, as we see that he is indeed one of them during the final fight between him and Darcy. He was the one orchestrating the attacks in London and helping the zombies take over England. His story change was one I did not expect, but I’m glad it happened; we finally see Darcy kick his ass!

Jack Huston as George Wickham showing Lizzy where the "civilized" zombies congregate.

Now, it’s time to talk about Darcy and Elizabeth. To me, there is no replacing Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. It can’t be done, so I am very picky about who they cast as him. Sam Riley, I thought, was a great fit for Darcy in this world. Seeing him in a commanding position against the undead army gave Darcy different qualities that Riley seemed to pull off comfortably, all while maintaining the qualities everyone has grown to love. Lily James does the same when bringing Elizabeth into this world. Luckily, the two have chemistry on screen, otherwise some of the scenes between Darcy and Elizabeth would have been painfully awkward and terrible. Specifically the scene when he first proposes. Hands down one of my favorite scenes in the original, and now one of my favorite scenes in this movie. You have the heated discussion between Elizabeth and Darcy along with some martial arts. Elizabeth is easily beating Darcy in their little dance as she swipes his leg, kicks him in the face, throws a few punches, and tries to stab him. However, he doesn’t let her win easily as he blocks and parries her attacks. I just hope Darcy learned his lesson: Don’t piss of Elizabeth Bennett.

The epic first proposal isn't going well for Mr. Darcy

This book runs ALMOST parallel to the original Pride and Prejudice. You could set the copies side by side and follow along in the story, just insert zombie scenes into the original and you have the exact same story. It was an interesting book, but I do think this is the one time where I like the movie more than the book. Reading about a zombie apocalypse is not as satisfying as seeing it. Throughout the movie, you see nods towards the two iconic versions of Pride and Prejudice. There’s a slight nod to the 1995 version (with the perfection that is Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy). We see a slight reenactment of the infamous lake scene. If you need a reminder, click the link below to watch Colin Firth turn a simple swim into a scene women have yet to forget. There are also several nods to the 2005 version. They use similar video montages when Bingley is leaving Netherfield.

Here's the classic lake scene from the 1995 version.

There are several scenes from the original storyline of Pride and Prejudice, that are also in this book, that were left out. I was slightly disappointed, but overall pleased with the movie. Personally, nothing will ever beat Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. However, this was a great love letter to Jane Austen’s work as well as the equally beautiful film versions of Pride and Prejudice. It just had a great twist on it that is going to draw this generation to the story. I highly suggest going to see this in theaters. Trust me you do not want to miss catching this on the big screen.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is in theaters now!

--Kasey