PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES (Burr Steers). 108 minutes. Opens Friday (February 5). See listing. Rating: NNNN
It’s all about the tone, really. A mashup of Jane Austen and Hammer horror could have gone wrong in so many ways: self-conscious performances, stiff dialogue, not enough zombies, you name it.
Instead, rather against all odds, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is a great deal of fun.
Burr Steers’s adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s Jane Austen riff re-situates Austen’s classic tale of strong wills and social mores in a world of the walking dead while preserving the relationships and much of the wit of the original.
It’s basically the same story – only Sam Riley’s stiff-backed Mr. Darcy is now a colonel in the anti-zombie militia, Lena Headey’s snooty Lady Catherine lost an eye battling the hordes, and so forth.
Steers – whose directorial resumé includes both Igby Goes Down and 17 Again – wisely foregrounds the Austen elements rather than the horror trappings Grahame-Smith added. Thus, Charles Dance’s Mr. Bennet can still take pride in his daughters’ prowess and Matt Smith’s Parson Collins can fawn foolishly over his social betters, and we can appreciate Austen’s insight into human foibles and the richness of her characters.
And then Elizabeth (Lily James) and Jane (Bella Heathcote) can unsheath their swords and take on a wave of ravenous Regency-period zombies, and you know what? That’s pretty pleasurable, too.
