Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

“It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains,” says spirited Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James), explaining the mysterious plague that has beset the land in this quirky horror comedy that re-imagines Jane Austen's classic tale of tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th-century England. Fortunately, Elizabeth and her four marriageable sisters are masters of Chinese martial arts. The beautiful eldest sister, decorous Jane (Bella Heathcote), immediately catches the eye of eligible Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth), while strong, confident Elizabeth spars with brooding Col. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Sam Riley), a snobbish (yet renowned) zombie killer. Inevitably, they must band together to vanquish the decomposing ghouls. Charles Dance and Sally Phillips costar as the Bennet parents, while Matt Smith adds amusement as prissy parson Mr. Collins, Jack Huston is dastardly as Mr. Wickham, and Lena Headey glowers as Darcy's Amazonian warrior aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. In the opening sequence, as the Bennet sisters (including Suki Waterhouse, Ellie Bamber, and Millie Brady) slip weapons into the garters of their Regency-era finery, director Burr Steers sets a playful, cheeky, girl-power tone—which sadly fades all-too-soon. Based on Seth Grahame-Smith's bestselling 2009 novel, the film is neither funny enough nor scary enough. Worst of all, the walking dead gimmick grows tedious and tiresome. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Courtship, Class, and Carnage: Meet the Cast” (7 min.) and “From Austen to Zombies: Adapting a Classic” (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (10 min.), behind-the-scenes segments on “The Badass Bennet Sisters” (4 min.) and “Creating the Unmentionables” (4 min.), “Mr. Collins Line-O-Rama” outtakes (3 min.), a gag reel (2 min.), and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so adaptation of a so-so mashup novel.] (S. Granger)