Pride and Prejudice and Zombies lands on DVD and Blu-Ray and with it arrives the most wicked, devilishly delicious version of a Jane Austen story you’ll ever see.
Seth Grahame-Smith’s took Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice and didn’t just add zombies, he transformed the beloved Bennett sisters into a kick-ass collective that could defend themselves and surely didn’t need a man to save the day. That being said, in Grahame-Smith’s story, they didn’t turn down the help or affections of the handsome gents around them.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies takes place in the same time period and locale as the Austen novel, it’s just there’s a plague that has been unleashed on England that has produced a horde of undead that kind of like to munch on brains and the rest of the human body. Sam Riley is Darcy, and he’s pretty bad-ass in this incarnation as well. He is an expert vampire slayer and he and his team are doing what they can to keep the countryside free from zombies. But, it is getting increasingly more difficult as the hordes from London are getting more and more difficult to control.
Lily Collins (Cinderella) is magnificent as Elizabeth Bennet and her sparks with Riley are electric. All of the Bennet sisters (Bella Heathcote, Millie Brady and Suki Waterhouse) are equally as fabulous and fierce. Watching them come together to fight the evil dead is nothing short of pure, unadulterated joy.
As you can tell, we adore this movie… for more check out our theatrical Pride and Prejudice and Zombies review. Just know that some of the most hilarious moments in the movie, are lines taken directly from the Austen book. So, for fans of the Elizabethan author, know this – her spirit, heart and humor ring throughout this zombie-fied world.
The stellar cast is rounded out by Matt Smith, Charles Dance (as Mr. Bennet!), Lena Headey, Douglas Booth and Jack Huston.
The rich bonus features landscape for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has to start with a spotlight on The Badass Bennet Sisters. The featurette goes behind the scenes it shines a light on how the actress got battle ready for all the action sequences — something that is not that easy, given their 19th century garb. It’s fascinating to see how they incorporated all of that into the fight sequences that made it not only seamless for the actress, but eye candy for the audience.
The film’s director, Burr Steers, gets a salute in the featurette From Austen to Zombies: Adapting a Classic. The man not only helmed, but penned the screenplay based on Grahame-Smith’s book. Taking what the author added to Austen, and incorporating all of the original aspects of the legendary author’s work was not an easy task. This doc does an impeccable job in merely six minutes, of going into detail as to how Steers managed to achieve the extremely difficult task and craft a film that makes everyone happy, from zombie fans to Austen fans to movie aficionados in general.
You’ll fall in love with the cast even further with Courtship, Class and Carnage: Meet the Cast. It is clear that this group developed a kinship on the set that shine through on every frame, but also in this bonus featurette that presents fascinating interviews with the ensemble as they add layers of background to the making of the movie that you will want to know after having seen this gem.
The zombies in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies have a unique look. They’re very much of the period, yet quite menacing in all ways. Creating the Unmentionables is a short; too short really, look at the makeup and costuming that filmmakers undertook to craft a horde that fits perfectly in this world.
Given the horror surrounding the performers throughout the shoot, it is nice to see that there were some lighter moments, and those are captured impeccably in the Gag Reel. This is a nice featurette that is being added to home video releases of the horror genre of late that is entirely welcomed! Speaking of hilarity, one of the funniest characters in the entire zombie-laden Austen world and the original is Mr. Collins. You do not want to miss the Mr. Collins Line-O-Rama, which adds even more humor to the bonus features than just that Gag Reel.
Film: B+
Bonus Features: B