The “mashup” film genre has so far given us a slew of movies that looked a whole lot more fun on paper than they ended up being in cinemas. Think 2013’s Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, which armed grownup versions of the Brothers Grimm abandoned kiddies with heavy weaponry and set them loose in a cod-mediaeval, steampunky central European locale; or 2012’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, in which the American president is retooled as a badass destroyer of the undead.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is based on the 2009 mashup novel which arguably spawned the whole trend, from author and Abraham Lincoln screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, but it has been mired in development purgatory for half a decade. Originally set to be directed by David O Russell, with Natalie Portman as Elizabeth Bennet, it’s now due to arrive in February 2016 with Cinderella’s Lily James in the lead and Igby Goes Down’s Burr Steers on writing and directing duties.
Cast members Sam Riley (Mr Darcy), Matt Smith (Mr Collins), Lena Headey and Douglas Booth all make brief appearances in the teaser trailer (we’re told Jack Huston and Charles Dance will also be showing their faces). But it’s really all about the katana-swishing Bennet ladies and their mad zombie-slaying skills.
James is surely a perfect fit after playing the demure period role without a trace of irony in her most recent big screen outing, as the servant girl who finds she can, after all, go to the ball. The English actor’s ability to carry both sides of the story– Jane Austen’s elegantly mannered regency romance and Grahame-Smith’s blood-curdling, martial arts riffing insertions – will no doubt determine whether P&P&Z ends up being the mashup movie that rekindles passion for this B-movie demi-genre, or sees it condemned to walk the bargain bin corner of rundown DVD stores for all eternity.
