Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (stylized as Pride + Prejudice + Zombies) is a 2016 American comedy horror film based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith that parodies the 1813 British 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.

It was released by Screen Gems on February 5, 2016 in the United States, and by Lionsgate internationally.

Plot
In 19th century England, the Bennet sisters—Elizabeth, Jane, Kitty, Lydia, and Mary— have all been trained in the art of weaponry and martial arts in China at their father's behest so they can defend themselves from the hordes of zombies that have largely overrun Britain. Mrs. Bennet however, only wants her daughters married off to wealthy suitors. The Bennets attend a ball thrown by the rich Bingley family, where the young and handsome Bingley falls for Jane. When zombies attack the ball, the Bennet sisters fight them off, and Colonel Darcy becomes smitten with Elizabeth. On the way to the Bingleys later, Jane is attacked by a zombie and catches a fever. Darcy orders her confined in fear that she may have been bitten, but she successfully recovers.

The Bennets are visited by the overbearing Parson Collins, who proposes to Elizabeth, but states that she must give up her life as a warrior, something she refuses to do. At another ball, Elizabeth meets a charming soldier named Wickham. She travels with him to a church that is filled with zombies who feed on pig brains instead of human brains, keeping their behaviour relatively normal. Wickham believes that with these new civilized zombies, humans can coexist peacefully with them. He asks Elizabeth to elope with him, but she backs off. Elizabeth learns that Darcy convinced the Bingleys to leave to keep Bingley away from Jane. When Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, having fallen in love with her, she expresses outrage at his actions and fights him. Darcy later writes Elizabeth a letter to apologize. He explains 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. He also exposes Wickham's true nature: he and Wickham were childhood friends but Wickham tried to elicit money from Darcy's estate, then tried to elope with Darcy's little sister for her fortune. Elizabeth learns that Wickham has taken Lydia and London has been overrun with zombies. Darcy saves Lydia and learns that Wickham is actually using the 'civilized' zombies to create a zombie army to overrun London. He stops him by giving the zombies human brains, which turns them savage.

While fighting, Darcy sees a zombie bite on Wickham's chest, revealing Wickham has been undead all along, staying civilized by consuming pig brains. Elizabeth saves Darcy from being killed by Wickham. As the two ride across the bridge, the army destroys it to keep the zombies from crossing over into London. Darcy is injured in the explosion, and Elizabeth tearfully admits her love for him. After Darcy recovers, he proposes to Elizabeth again, and this time, she agrees. The two have a joint wedding with Bingley and Jane.

In a mid-credits scene, Wickham leads a horde of zombies toward the wedding celebration.

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

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

Filming
Principal photography began on September 24, 2014, at West Wycombe House & Park, Buckinghamshire. During the Halloween weekend, actors were spotted shooting some scenes at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. Later in early November, crews were filming at Basing House in Old Basing. On November 13, filming shifted to Frensham inSurrey, where they would shoot until November 21.

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

Marketing
In October 2014, Entertainment Weekly published the first photo from the production. 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. On October 9, 2015 the UK teaser trailer and poster were released. On October 22, 2015, Screen Gems released the first official US trailer and poster. On November 26, 2015, Lionsgate UK released a full-length trailer and the film's first official British poster.

Box office
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was released in North America on February 5, 2016, alongside Hail, Caesar! and The Choice. The film is projected to gross $10–12 million from 2,931 theaters in its opening weekend.

Critical response
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 45%, based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. 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." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Pop Culture Uncovered gave the film four out of five stars, calling it a "largely faithful adaption of the novel" and praising James, Riley, and Smith's performances. We Got This Covered, meanwhile, awarded the film only 2/5 stars, saying that "lovers of Austen, zombies, or half-decent genre fare will have little to feel ardent about watching Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."