Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The award for best horror film goes to:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

I am often asked, "What is a Halloween movie that you watch every year, without fail?" A more common way of phrasing the same question might be, "Which is your favorite Halloween movie?" Since Halloween is my favorite holiday and one thing I love to do is watch scary movies the whole month of October, that really is a tough question to answer, since there are so very many of them! Sure, there are some stinkers, but there are so many good ones! One that I must watch every single year though, is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, starring Lily James and Sam Riley with Bella Heathcote, Ellie Bamber, Millie Brady, Suki Waterhouse, Douglas Booth and Sally Phillips. The entire cast is absolutely stellar, but Game of Thrones fans will be thrilled to see Lena Heady and Charles Dance together again, as well! The cast is only one of many terrific reasons I keep coming back to this movie again and again, over the past four years and do not see an end in sight.

To begin with, I feel that the fact that the writers took one of the most classic stories ever written and modernized it by adding a horror element to it was inspired! Especially after seeing the success of The Walking Dead and how well that franchise had done! Some might argue that it was “gimmicky”, but I will admit that I had never read the book, “Pride and Prejudice” or seen the original movie as it just never appealed to me. After watching Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I felt compelled to go and read the book and watch the original movie. Admittedly, I prefer the horror version over the original as “…Zombies” ads a great deal of action to the original’s otherwise tedious love story. The suspense and mystery that are added to the updated retelling all come together to make it infinitely more enjoyable. However, because of all that I can now say that I have finally read one of the most classic pieces of literature ever written and for that, I am proud. Everybody should read the classics at least once in their life, after all. Sadly, most of the younger generations don't really have any desire to do so. Let’s face it: they are outdated and a lot of them are boring. If movie makers did the same thing with Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Little Women, etc., tell the story but add a horror element to it, then we might see those books flying off the shelves at the bookstores!

Another great element in this movie is Sam Riley's acting. I doubt Lionsgate could have picked a better actor to play Mr. Darcy then him. As the hero of the story, Mr. Darcy is supposed to very tough, as he's not only a military colonel and a highly skilled martial artist but he still has a very caring and loving nature, and he loves Elizabeth Bennet dearly. Riley, whether through his own natural character or through his acting ability, portrayed this incredibly well and did great justice to the character as portrayed in the book. His chemistry with Lily James was absolutely magnetic and the relationship between the two characters was very believable, making for a taught storyline and tense climax.

There is a lot of stabbing and violence in this movie, as it is a horror movie and not for children. However, unlike so many other horror movies, there is a very engaging story that tends to suck its audience in. Pride and Prejudice hasn’t been a classic for over 200 years for no reason, after all! It saddens me that this movie did not get as much attention as I thought it deserved. It also saddens me that not very many people even know about this movie. If you are one of those who has not seen it, then I recommend you get some snacks, dim the lights, sit down, and watch it this Halloween season. You will not be disappointed! You may even be compelled to take in some classic literature!