Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Blu-ray Movie Review

World War Austen.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 27, 2016

Note: This review is based on the 1080p Blu-ray included with the 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' UHD release. Sony did not provide a standalone retail copy of the 1080p version. Other than perhaps disc artwork, the releases should be identical.

Jane Austen is almost certainly rolling over in her grave, but if she were alive today she's also be rolling in some extra dough. The beloved 19th century author's works continue to sell and inspire new generations of readers and writers alike, with many of her novels finding successful cinematic adaptations throughout the years. But Austen's works, whether the original writings on the page or their turns on the screen, have always drawn a predominantly female audience. But with the zany reworking of her hallmark novel Pride & Prejudice to include zombies, the story's audience broadened. Author Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies became a surprise hit, injecting Austen's classic novel with a...bite it lacked before. It's so nutty it worked. The novel eventually became the film, which competes with the like of Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter as one of the most absurd historical mash-ups of all time. But does the book's success translate to quality on the screen?

"Darcy. Colonel Darcy."

19th century England resembles a medieval war zone. Aristocratic gatherings and high culture are still a staple, but London has been cut off from the rest of the world, surrounded by a vast moat meant to keep the hordes of the living dead at bay. Some still sneak through, particularly since the transformation is slow and a bite only begins the process; eating a brain finishes it. Colonel Darcy (Sam Riley) uses flies -- drawn to rotting flesh -- to pick a zombie from a high class card game, symbolizing the tense world and the dirty work necessary to keep Britons safe. But life goes on, as well as can be expected. The Bennet sisters are of marrying age, and their mother (Sally Phillips) is desperate to see them married to a wealthy suitor. Any wealthy suitor. But more than beautiful brides-to-be, they're all highly skilled in the art of war, trained in China and more than capable of holding their own against the undead, either by blade or by firearm. The girls' latest suitor is the wealthy Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth). He's immediately drawn to Jane Bennet (Bella Heathcote) while Bingley's friend Mr. Darcy finds himself drawn to the reluctant-to-marry Elizabeth (Lily James). Can love conquer all, including zombies?

In a word, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is best described as a "novelty," and one that wears out rather fast after an admittedly campy enthusiasm for its daring blend of two completely disparate genres. To the movie's credit, it plays things rather straight, refusing to go full-on Comedy, which would have certainly been the easier route to take. No, Director Burr Steers (17 Again) walks that tightrope between staying true to the story's period roots and its over-the-top The Walking Dead-ish action scenes very well. The movie's levity stays tucked underneath, not at all missable but clearly taking a backseat to the film's more serious front as it maneuvers to work in romantic angles and core Austen narrative pieces while spiking it with a zombie infestation. The film further dabbles in lore, though much of it crude: London has been sealed off by a large moat, for instance. That background helps solidify the world and give the characters something to play against. But it always feels like the movie is right on the verge of bringing up the lights with the cast collectively laughing and pointing at the audience, saying "the joke's on you!" but it holds together just well enough to keep up appearances and sell the mishmash material about as well as can be expected as stuffy costume drama maneuverings meet slick modern day action movement and effects.

The problem is that the material isn't good enough to sustain the movie for the long haul. It's enticing at first. Scrumptious, even. Creativity. Glorious creativity! There's something different out there. But the film really can't get past its name and its first few kills. There's a serious sense of repetition to the film and, as it begins to drag, a palpable desperation to sustain it by any means necessary emerges. The answer is only to further convolute the plot, mix up too many characters with too much drama with too much try-hard slick sword- and gunplay. The movie is, at one moment, Austen through-and-through. Then it wants to take a moment to transform into some over-stylized knockoff of Underworld or Kill Bill or something along those lines, and then go back to the ballrooms and courtships. And it's there that another problem arises. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies gets the Austen stuff dead-on right. The cast is terrific, the film boasts top-notch costuming and set design, all working to create a detailed and authentic Austen world. Unfortunately, the other side can't match. The film's PG-13 rating stymies the zombie side's ability to keep up, to really stretch and show the contrasts and bring the movie full circle. There's some decent zombie gore, a little bit of rotting flesh and some (literal and figurative) teeth to the walking dead, but not enough real mushy, disgusting terrors to put the movie over the top (and there are several instances where blades clearly miss their targets, and by a wide margin, but the zombie reacts as if it's been struck, anyway). That's almost certainly a decision carefully planned and implemented by the filmmakers to lure in Austen and Costume Drama fans with a more audience-friendly rating, fans who might otherwise be turned off to zombies, but it's to the overall detriment of the movie's nifty mashup.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The movie's digital transfer yields exceedingly enjoyable results. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies dazzles on Blu-ray. The 1080p presentation is home to gorgeous colors and sturdy details. The digital sheen is apparent, but rarely does the image's inherent flatness and inorganic, smooth texturing distract from the picture's gorgeous visuals. Period costumes are resplendent. Fine fabric detailing, whether on lighter dresses or heavier jackets, is intimately revealing. Facial textures are excellent; while more weathered and mature faces impress, even the girls' very smooth and shiny skin reveals extremely fine pores and makeup lines. Supportive environmental details -- woodland accents, brick façades, wooden trim -- never fail to push the boundaries of what 1080p Blu-ray can achieve. Colors dazzle. Even as much of the film favors a creamy color, brighter clothing accents -- a blue dress, a red jacket -- stand apart with terrific saturation and vibrancy. Natural greens offer a nice contrast in exterior scenes. Black levels are impressively deep without crushing out background detail. Flesh tones carry a natural shading. Noise is present but minimal. Other artifacts are never of any concern. This is a terrific Blu-ray presentation from Sony.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features an aggressive and detailed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that comes up big at every opportunity in every moment. Music is detailed and full, solidified by a positive low end pronouncement. Spacing is terrific, yielding natural wrap around the listening area and faultless clarity. Lighter moments enjoy natural, immersive din, whether chatter at a large gathering for a card game, buzzing flies that maneuver through the stage in search of a zombie, or light woodland ambience that transformers the listening area into the green, eerie location. The movie's first zombie kill comes suddenly and with a jolting rush of aggressive energy and quality sound detail. In later action scenes, gunfire hits hard with tremendous presence, depth, and reverberation when shots ring out in larger open spaces. Larger battle sounds and bits of chaos are very well defined with even subtle detailing standing apart from the madness. Zombie moans and groans are eerily immersive and perfectly defined. Dialogue delivery is healthy and naturally positioned in the center. Prioritization never falters.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies contains a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a few featurettes. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Gag Reel (1080p, 1:38).
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Girls Get Ready (0:47), The Netherfield Dance (2:05), Caroline Bingley Showdown (1:35), Corinthians (0:28), Collins Gets Ready (1:00), Mr. Darcy's Letter (0:29), Pemberley (2:55), and Liz and Darcy Meet (1:21).
• The Badass Bennet Sisters (1080p, 3:59): The actresses who play the Bennet girls combine dramatic acting and action skills into their roles.
• Courtship, Class and Carnage: Meet the Cast (1080p, 6:54): Cast and crew talk up the performances and the actors who give them.
• From Austen to Zombies: Adapting a Classic (1080p, 6:00): A look at Burr Steers' work on the film, maintaining the integrity of the original story, the ways the zombies amplify the core themes, and more.
• Creating the Unmentionables (1080p, 3:31): A rapid-fire look at zombie makeup and what the filmmakers wanted to get from the creatures' look.
• Mr. Collins Line-O-Rama (1080p, 2:39): Extra bits of humorous dialogue.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an odd duck that doesn't really seem to have an audience beyond the curiously inclined. Costume Drama and Jane Austen fans will probably be turned off by the (even moderately tame) gore, violence, and comically absurd plot reworking. Zombie fans will quickly tire of the Costume Drama pot lines that are integral to the movie. The film works as a sometimes humorous curiosity, but it never translates into a must-see movie for either core audience. Sony's Blu-ray release of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does offer excellent video and audio. Supplements aren't groundbreaking, but there's enough here to fill up the back of the box. Worth a rental.