Thursday 17 March 2016

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

I like to think that I’ll give any movie a shot if someone recommends it to me, but there are two specific movies that I have zero interest in watching. Period Dramas and Zombie Horrors. I’m trying this year though to be more open minded, and with the arrival of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I got the chance to put a tick in both boxes. Plus, the lovely Ruth at FlixChatter is crushing hard on Sam Riley right now, and I feel like I owe it to her to check him out!


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Now, I’ve never watched or read the original Pride and Prejudice so forgive me if I manage to completely butcher the plot or make a fool of myself in any other way, but the plot of this movie goes something like this. In an alternative 19th century England, Elizabeth (Lily James) and her sisters are desperately trying to avoid being pushed into marriages whilst also learning how to protect themselves from the zombies that plague the Earth. Along the way, Elizabeth meets Mr Darcy (Sam Riley) who is investigating a possible outbreak.

What struck me first of all was how funny this movie was! I’m not saying I was expecting a straight-faced horror or anything, and I can’t even think of a specific moment to mention, but it was multiple subtle moments in expressions and timing that had me laughing throughout. Plus Matt Smith’s character Parson Collins who was just hilarious every time he was on the screen.


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The main reason I can’t get on with period dramas is that the female characters tend to rub me up the wrong way. I don’t know how zombies solved this problem for me but they did! The 5 sisters in this movie are brilliant, they can hold their own ground, stand up for themselves and ultimately - kick ass! The scene where they all got ready for the dance, holstering their knives under their skirts was just great. This brings me on to the rest of the cast. When I first saw the trailer I didn’t recognise many faces, but now, I seem to know everybody! It's always fun trying to remember just where you saw that face.

I think what let me down was my own knowledge of the genre to be honest. I’m sure there were many nods to the original Pride and Prejudice and they would have flown straight over my head. In fact, I might just have to watch it now to find out, but I’m not going to be able to take it seriously anymore!


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Now, I can’t finish this review without telling Ruth what I thought of her beloved Sam Riley. Whilst he’s not going to knock Oscar Isaac off the top of my obsession throne, he was rather yummy I must admit! And Ruth I have to know, is his voice always that husky? I could listen to the man talk all day!

Anyway, as someone who dislikes horror and period drama, I had so much with this movie. In fact, I dare say I’m going to be rewatching it soon. 

Edit: I’ve just realised that the movie’s tagline is ‘Bloody Lovely’ and I’ve been laughing for about 10 minutes straight.



12 comments:

  1. Yaaaaaasss!! I'm glad you like this given you're not a fan of horror nor period dramas. I'm a huge fan of the latter and have seen plenty of P&P adaptations, true or reimagined ones. That said, I did not expect to love it as much as I did and I blame Sam Riley!!! I've never been a fan of Mr Darcy like most Austen fans, but Riley's Colonel Darcy, oh my! I think from the first moment he stepped off his horse in the intro, decked in all black leather and boots I was a goner!! I also love the Bennet sisters and making them into badass zombie slayers, who are just as capable as Darcy himself, is just brilliant. I LOVE Lily James as Lizzie, too. Wasn't that proposal fight scene pretty darn epic? I find the whole thing so entertaining and hilarious! I agree the subtle facial expressions and the fact that they're playing it straight (well except for Matt Smith as Collins) made it funnier! Did you catch the fact that Collins' crushing on Darcy in this one? That bit during the wedding is hysterical!

    Sorry for my rambling comment, I'm just so happy you enjoyed this and that you said some nice things about my beloved Sam. YES his voice is always that husky! Even in Control when he was 27 (he's 36 now) he's already got that raspy voice, like a young John Hurt, ahah. I LOVE it, I can listen to him for hours, which is why I listen to his interviews daily to get my Sam's voice fix!

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    1. Yessssss! You are welcome to leave rambling comments ANY DAY. I love it! I actually love this movie more each time I think about it, and I'll be getting the DVD when it comes out.

      Doesn't Sam Riley just have the most unique voice though!! As much as I'd like to see his face again he would be great as a voice actor too, he'd be instantly recognisable!

      - Allie

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    2. I have to come back and share this trailer of ON THE ROAD which you absolutely have to see as Sam Riley has a big part AND he looked absolutely gorgeous in it. He also narrated the film as Jack Kerouac's alter ego Sal Paradise: https://youtu.be/sAb5vODOrgg

      I'm glad you love this enough you'd get the dvd!! I can't wait to buy it once it's out in May. If you're on Tumblr, you'll see there are many people who're in love w/ Sam Riley's Colonel Darcy as well. He's the ONLY Darcy I ever fall for.

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    3. Oooh thanks for the recommendation!
      It's funny that you mention Tumblr, Sam Riley's been appearing in my news feed quite often and I haven't been actively looking for him, haha!
      - Allie

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  2. Nice review! This was such a fun movie to see in theaters. The cast and story was great, though it could've used more Lena Headey. I'm hoping the sequel will be in the works someday.

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    1. Definitely! It's sort of a blessing and a curse. I was so glad to see so many familiar faces, but I'd have liked them to get more screen time, too.
      - Allie

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  3. Great review! I had no idea it had strong comedy elements, makes me wanna watch it more

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    1. Samesies! I can certainly glaze over the horror elements, because this might just be the funniest movie of 2015 :)
      - Allie

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  4. Ruth also pointed me towards this one, unfortunately it didn't play for more than a week here :( Sounds like I missed out on some fun!

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    1. I think by now she's owed some kind of royalties for introducing so many of us to it, haha! Definitely check it out on DVD when it's released, it's worth it :)
      - Allie

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  5. I'm a Jane Austen nut, and have a growing love for horror films, and I also enjoyed it! Clearly it is doing something right if it appeals to so many!

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed it too! I read a not-so-kind review that said it wasn't Austen-y enough for those fans to enjoy, and not scary enough for horror fans, which is why I thought maybe I enjoyed it more, but that's not the case! :)
      - Allie

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