Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (film)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Burr Steers
Produced by
Screenplay by Burr Steers
Based on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 
by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Starring
Music by Fernando Velázquez
Cinematography Remi Adefarasin
Edited by Padraic McKinley
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • February 5, 2016 (2016-02-05)
Running time
 108 minutes[1]
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Language English
Budget $28 million[2]
Box office $10.6 million[3]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (stylized as Pride + Prejudice + Zombies) is a 2016 British-American action comedy horror film based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith that parodies the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The film is directed by Burr Steers, who wrote the adapted screenplay, and stars Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston, Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Matt Smith, Charles Dance and Lena Headey.

The film was released by Screen Gems on February 5, 2016 in the United States,[4] and by Lionsgate on February 11 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[5]

Plot

In 19th century England, Colonel Darcy (Sam Riley) travels to the home of a wealthy family to investigate rumors of a newly infected zombie. He arrives at the home and sits with the family before taking out a small vial containing carrion flies as a means to detect the undead (as they are attracted to dead flesh). The flies land on the house's patriarch, whose eyes turn red. Darcy breaks a glass and stabs the man in the throat before decapitating him. One of the young girls in the house retreats upstairs to check on the niece of the recently dispatched zombie. She discovers the niece devouring a servant; the niece then proceeds to attack her, and then they both kill everyone in the house.

The Bennet sisters - Elizabeth (Lily James), Jane (Bella Heathcote), Kitty (Suki Waterhouse), Lydia (Ellie Bamber), and Mary (Millie Brady) - have all been sent to China by their father to learn in the art of weaponry and martial arts. Mrs. Bennet (Sally Phillips) wants her daughters to be married off to wealthy suitors. As it turns out, the Bingley family has moved in nearby and are throwing a ball, wherein Mrs. Bennet hopes that the young and handsome Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth) will win over one of her girls. Elizabeth, on the other hand, doesn't want to seek a husband.

The Bennets attend the ball. Bingley instantly sets his eyes on Jane. Darcy is in attendance and takes notice of Elizabeth, but he makes comments that she is unappealing, which Elizabeth overhears. She walks outside tearfully and encounters Mrs. Featherstone (Hermione Corfield), now a zombie. Mrs. Featherstone converses with Elizabeth, before she is killed by Darcy. A horde of zombies then attack the party, prompting the Bennet sisters to spring into action. As they slay every zombie in their path, Darcy instantly becomes smitten with Elizabeth when he witnesses her in combat.

The Bingley sisters invite Jane over for tea at Netherfield. Mrs. Bennett forces her to go on horseback, thinking she will be invited to stay overnight due the oncoming rainstorm. While on the ride, Jane encounters a zombie and fires her gun. The gun backfires leaving a bite-like wound on her hand. She kills it but then spots a zombie woman with her child. Jane hesitates and is attacked by the zombie. At Netherfield, Darcy orders her confined to her room, in fear that she may have been bitten. Elizabeth arrives at the home to care for Jane. While in Jane's room, Darcy releases his flies to detect a zombie, but Elizabeth catches each fly with her hand and returns them to Darcy.

After Jane recovers, the sisters attend another ball thrown by the Bingleys. There, Elizabeth meets a soldier named Mr. Wickham (Jack Huston), who seems to be charming and polite. He tells Elizabeth that he has had a history with Darcy and does not wish to further challenge him. Another group of zombies attack the party, resulting in Bingley injuring himself, and Darcy joining Elizabeth in fighting the horde. The Bennets are visited by Parson Collins (Matt Smith), who intends to marry one of the sisters. He initially sets his eyes on Jane, though he is told that she is with Bingley. He later tries to seduce Elizabeth, and proposes to her, but states that she must give up her life as a warrior, something that she adamantly refuses to do. Mr. Collins later decides to settle with Elizabeth's friend Charlotte (Aisling Loftus).

Elizabeth travels with Wickham to the In-Between (an area outside of walled-in London but inside a royal moat) to a church where some zombies live and worship, while feeding on pig brains to keep them from going completely savage, which would occur if they ate human brains. Wickham wants Elizabeth to join him in helping the zombies. He also suggests that she run away with him, but she remains conflicted. Elizabeth and Wickham then meet with Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Lena Headey), a notorious zombie killer with major authority and wealth, to try and persuade her to come to peace with the more "civilized" zombies who do not eat human brains. Darcy and his aunt blatantly refuse. When she arrives home, Elizabeth is told that Darcy has convinced the Bingleys to move away. When Darcy approaches Elizabeth with a proposal of his own, she expresses her outrage at his actions and fights him in a duel. Elizabeth gets the upper hand, and Darcy leaves.

Darcy writes Elizabeth a letter to apologize for his actions and to state that he separated Jane and Bingley for fear that Jane only wanted to marry Bingley for his wealth, having overheard Mrs. Bennet drunkenly mention it. Darcy also mentions that Wickham had tried to elope with Darcy's fifteen-year-old sister for her fortune. Darcy's letter states that he is battling zombies in London, and that they have overrun the walled city. Elizabeth is then cornered by Lady Catherine and her bodyguard Wilhelm (Ryan Oliva). Catherine knows that Elizabeth and Darcy have developed an attraction toward one another, yet she still wants Darcy to marry her sickly daughter, Anne. Wilhelm attacks Elizabeth, but she claws his face and fights him off, causing him to get crushed under a pile of bricks. Catherine decides to protect Elizabeth's family and takes them to her estate. Wickham ran off with Elizabeth's youngest sister, and she must go rescue her.

Elizabeth joins Darcy in London and helps him battle the undead. Darcy encounters Wickham at the old church and rescues Elizabeth's sister. While fighting Wickham, he impales him and reveals a bite mark on his chest, revealing Wickham was undead all along. Before Wickham can kill Darcy, Elizabeth rides in and chops his arm off and knocks him unconscious. Darcy rides with Elizabeth across the bridge as the army destroys the last remaining bridge to keep the zombies trapped within the In-between on the inside of the moat. Darcy is injured in the explosion and is rendered unconscious. Elizabeth tearfully admits her love for him. After Darcy recovers, he finds Elizabeth and tells her that he heard what she said on the bridge. They share their first kiss and agree to marry. The two have a joint wedding with Bingley and Jane, officiated by Parson Collins. In a mid-credits scene, the now one-armed Wickham is leading the zombies toward them, ready for war.

Cast

Production

Development

The film is based on the 2009 novel of the same name, which was billed as having been co-written by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. The project was first announced on December 10, 2009, in Variety, when it was revealed that Natalie Portman would both star in the role of Elizabeth Bennet and produce, and that Lionsgate would finance and distribute.[7] On December 14, David O. Russell was announced as the writer and director of the film.[8] On October 5, 2010, it was revealed that Russell had left the production due to scheduling conflicts.[9] Russell later revealed that he had disputes with Lionsgate over the budget.[10] The next day, it was announced that Portman had quit the role of Elizabeth Bennet, though she would still produce the film.[11] Following Russell's departure, Lionsgate offered Mike Newell and Matt Reeves the chance to take over from him, but both declined. On November 3, 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that Lionsgate had held meetings with Mike White, Neil Marshall and Jeffrey Blitz as potential directors.[12] White was hired on November 5.[13] On January 19, 2011, it was announced that White had had to leave the film due to scheduling conflicts with a pre-existing commitment at HBO.[14]

In February 2011, Craig Gillespie took over as director.[15] Gillespie revealed he was attracted to the project by the mashing of genres.[16] In May 2011, screenwriter Marti Noxon was hired to rewrite Russell's script.[17] On October 27, 2011, it was announced that Gillespie had left the film.[18] The project then stalled until March 2013, when Panorama Media joined to produce, finance and handle foreign sales.[19] In May, it was announced that Burr Steers would take over as director.[20] Steers did a rewrite of the script, saying that he had reinserted "all the Pride and Prejudice beats”.[21]

Filming

Principal photography began on September 24, 2014 at West Wycombe House & Park, Buckinghamshire.[22] During the Halloween weekend, actors were spotted shooting some scenes at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.[23] In early November, crews were filming at Basing House in Old Basing.[24] On November 13, filming shifted to Frensham in Surrey, where they shot until November 21.[25]

Soundtrack

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by Fernando Velázquez
Released February 5, 2016
Recorded 2015
Genre Soundtrack
Length 58:06
Label Varèse Sarabande

The film's soundtrack was released digitally on February 5, 2016, and will be released physically on February 12 by Varèse Sarabande.[26] The soundtrack features the film’s original score, composed and conducted by Fernando Velázquez.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
No. Title Length
1. "Darcy"   4:00
2. "An Illustrated History Of England 1700-1800"   2:20
3. "Dressing For The Dance"   0:36
4. "The Man From Uribe"   2:11
5. "Dance Of The Ponderous Distaff"   1:29
6. "We Are Under Attack!!"   2:27
7. "Carriage Ride"   1:05
8. "Orphans"   1:47
9. "The Soldiers Of Meryton"   1:10
10. "Menuet Des Mortes Vivants"   1:35
11. "Orphan Attack"   3:34
12. "Don’t Go Into The Woods Alone"   1:29
13. "St Lazarus"   2:43
14. "Rosings Park"   1:15
15. "Midnight Walk"   1:08
16. "Flirt Lovers Fight"   2:45
17. "The Letter / Siege Of London"   4:09
18. "The In-Between"   5:36
19. "Darcy Is Saved"   1:59
20. "Back To St Lazarus"   2:13
21. "Zombies Are Fed / Attack / Showdown"   5:13
22. "After The Explosion"   2:40
23. "Happy Ending?"   4:42
Total length:
 58:06

Release

On March 30, 2015, Screen Gems set the film for a February 19, 2016 release.[27] On April 22, 2015, Screen Gems pushed up the film's release date to February 5, 2016. The film was released by Lionsgate in the United Kingdom and Ireland on February 11.[5]

Marketing

In October 2014, Entertainment Weekly published the first photo from the production.[21] In July 2015, Lily James, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Jack Huston, Matt Smith, Burr Steers and Seth Grahame-Smith appeared at a panel at Comic-Con to promote the film, where the first trailer debuted.[28] On October 9, 2015, the UK teaser trailer and poster were released.[29] On October 22, 2015, Screen Gems released the first official US trailer and poster.[30] On November 26, 2015, Lionsgate UK released a full-length trailer and the film's first official British poster.[5]

Reception

Box office

As of February 14, 2016, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has grossed $9.82 million in North America and $769,234 in other territories for a worldwide total of $7.4 million, against a budget of $28 million.[3]

The film was released in North America on February 5, 2016, alongside Hail, Caesar! and The Choice. The film was projected to gross $10–12 million from 2,931 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] It earned $300,000 from previews showing on Thursday night and $5.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing below expectations and 6th at the box office.[31]

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 44%, based on 124 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies manages to wring a few fun moments out of its premise, but never delivers the thoroughly kooky mashup its title suggests."[32] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[33] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.[34]

Rafer Guzmán of Newsday wrote positively about the film, giving the film three out of four stars, calling it "an unexpected and off-kilter treat, thanks to a BBC-quality cast and (un)deadpan humor."[35] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, commenting that "PP&Z is rated PG-13, so the zombie gore is decidedly decorous. But before repetition dulls the party, the movie gets in a few juicy innings."[36] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film two out of four stars saying "Compared with other Jane Austen movies, it isn't much, but compared with other zombie apocalypse movies, it's an intelligent, literate effort."[37] Jesse Hassenger of The A.V. Club gave the film a C, commenting "That this particular retelling of the Jane Austen novel feels like a Cliffs Notes version is understandable; that its zombie bits are equally rudimentary, though, is more disappointing."[38] Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B, saying "If more inventive than scary, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies breathes fresh life into the hugely popular, but now desperately predictable, undead genre."[39] Mark Kermode of The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars, saying "Yet torn between Austen and the undead, Steers seems unsure how straight to play either element, blunting comedy, horror and romance alike. The result lacks bite – the one element that zombies and Austen should have in common."[40] Helen O'Hara of The Telegraph also gave two out of five stars, saying "If it had been more elegant in its storytelling, it could have been a fun genre crossover, but the best efforts of Steers and his cast can’t turn the overstuffed book into a film that makes any real sense."[41] Manohla Dargis of the New York Times gave the film a mixed review, saying "Both pride and prejudice still play their parts, but now in service to one tediously repeated joke: the sight of a gentleman or a lady, together or alone, playing cards or ballroom dancing, fatally swarmed by devouring zombies."[42] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com gave the film one and a half out of four stars, saying "Like the novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” the movie “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is predicated on a simple, single gimmick: It’s “Pride and Prejudice” … with zombies. This is a vaguely amusing idea which somehow got stretched out to an entire book, which somehow became a best seller, which inevitably means it had to be made into a film."[43]

Keith Uhlich of Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, calling the film "Lumbering, lifeless and -- strange thing to say about a cadaver -- almost entirely charmless."[44] Lindsey Bahr of Associated Press also gave a negative review, saying "This story might have been better suited to a television adaptation. The characters would have been allowed to breathe for a beat in that case. Here, the action and violence take up the space that would have generally been used for character development."[45] Stephen Whitty of New York Daily News gave the film two out of 5 stars, saying "The hungry monsters in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies are looking for nice big brains. Well, they won't find any here."[46] Stephanie Merry of Washington Post gave the film one and a half stars out of four, commenting ""Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" delivers what its title promises: a little romance and some undead villains, plus a bit of comedy. But this overly busy riff on Austen's winning formula doesn't justify all the tinkering."[47] Britton Peele of Dallas Morning News gave the film a B-, calling the film "Fun, funny, gory and yet still strangely romantic."[48]

References

  1. ↑ "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES (15)". British Board of Film Classification. January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Box Office Plays Defense Against Super Bowl With Younger Skewing Fare". deadline.com.
  3. 1 2 "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)". Box Office Mojo. (Amazon.com). Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Cranswick, Anne (November 26, 2015). "New UK poster and trailer for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". Flickering Myth. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ Canova, Stacey (August 5, 2015). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies at #SDCC #PPZMovie". Page Turners. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  7. ↑ Fleming, Michael (December 10, 2009). "Natalie Portman to slay zombies". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  8. ↑ Rowles, Dustin (December 14, 2009). "Exclusive: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Lands a Director". Pajiba. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  9. ↑ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (May 10, 2010). "David O. Russell Quits Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to Make Old St. Louis (Without ScarJo)". Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Why David O. Russell Isn’t Directing ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’". The Wall Street Journal. January 25, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  11. ↑ Labrecque, Jeff (October 6, 2010). "'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' loses Natalie Portman". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ Zeitchik, Steven (November 3, 2010). "'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' redux: Can Neil Marshall snag the job?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (November 15, 2010). "Mike White Sinks Teeth Into 'Pride And Prejudice And Zombies'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  14. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (January 19, 2011). "Mike White Off 'Pride And Prejudice And Zombies'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  15. ↑ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (February 8, 2011). "Can Director Craig Gillespie Reanimate Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?". Vulture. New York. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  16. ↑ Breznican, Anthony (April 19, 2011). "'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' director chews over Jane Austen mash-up – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  17. ↑ Weinstein, Joshua L. (May 31, 2011). "‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Gets a Polish From Marti Noxon (Updated)". The Wrap. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  18. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (October 27, 2011). "Craig Gillespie Exits Lionsgate's 'Pride And Prejudice And Zombies'". Deadline.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  19. ↑ McNary, Dave (1 March 2013). "Panorama Comes On Board ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’". variety.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  20. ↑ Kroll, Justin (1 May 2013). "‘Pride, Prejudice and Zombies’ Resurrected With Lily Collins and Director Burr Steers (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  21. 1 2 Bahr, Lindsey (30 October 2014). "Get an exclusive first look at 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'". ew.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Kit, Borys (September 17, 2014). "'Doctor Who' Star Matt Smith Joins 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  23. ↑ Smith, Ryan (November 4, 2014). "Matt Smith totes a beer bottle as he teams up with new girlfriend Lily James to shoot scenes for their zombie movie". Daily Mail. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  24. ↑ Roberts, Emily (November 7, 2014). "Zombie movie starring Matt Smith being filmed in Old Basing". Basingstoke Gazette. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  25. ↑ Morris, Jennifer (November 13, 2014). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie starts filming in Frensham". GetSurrey. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  26. ↑ "‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Soundtrack Details". FilmMusicReporter.com. January 22, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  27. ↑ McNary, Dave (March 30, 2015). "‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Set for Feb. 19, 2016". Variety. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  28. ↑ de Semlyen, Phil (July 11, 2015). "Comic-Con 2015: Pride And Prejudice And Zombies Panel Report". empireonline.com. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  29. ↑ Williams, Owen (October 9, 2015). "UK Teaser Trailer And Poster For Pride And Prejudice And Zombies". empireonline.com. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  30. ↑ Smith, C. Molly (October 22, 2015). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trailer exclusive: Lizzy Bennet's out for blood". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Moviegoers Begin To ‘Hail, Caesar!’ & Walk To ‘Zombies’ On Thursday Night". deadline.com.
  32. ↑ "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  34. ↑ "‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Pummeling ‘Caesar’, ‘Zombies’ & ‘The Choice’ At Weekend B.O.". deadline.com.
  35. ↑ Guzmán, Rafer (February 5, 2016). "‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ review: The undead (and Jane Austen) come to life". Newsday.
  36. ↑ Travers, Peter (February 4, 2016). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Movie Review Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone.
  37. ↑ LaSalle, Mick (February 4, 2016). "Zombies give Mr. Darcy something to brood about". San Francisco Chronicle.
  38. ↑ Hassenger, Jesse (February 4, 2016). "Adding zombies to Pride And Prejudice isn’t inherently scary or funny". The A.V. Club.
  39. ↑ Collis, Clark (February 4, 2016). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: EW review". Entertainment Weekly.
  40. ↑ Kermode, Mark (11 February 2016). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies review – horror hybrid lacks bite". The Guardian.
  41. ↑ O'Hara, Helen (11 February 2016). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies review: 'glossy but tedious'". The Telegraph.
  42. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (February 4, 2016). "Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’; More Tea, Dear?". New York Times.
  43. ↑ Lemire, Christy (February 4, 2016). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Movie Review (2016)". RogerEbert.com.
  44. ↑ Uhlich, Keith (January 27, 2016). "'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies': Film Review". Hollywood Reporter.
  45. ↑ Bahr, Lindsey (February 3, 2016). "Review: 'Pride & Prejudice & Zombies' is a silly muddle". Associated Press.
  46. ↑ Whitty, Stephen (February 3, 2016). "Movie review: ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ is brainless". New York Daily News.
  47. ↑ Merry, Stephanie (February 4, 2016). "‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’: A mash-up that doesn’t mesh". Washington Post.
  48. ↑ Peele, Britton (February 3, 2016). "The kick-butt women of 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' make it a fun if simple ride". Dallas Morning News.

External links

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