Jay of the Dead's New Horror Movies presents... Dead Man Still Walking with Dr. Walking Dead. Well, hello, everybody. This is Dr. Walking Dead. It's Kyle Bishop to you from Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. And I don't know exactly when this will air because I got way ahead. Over the summer. So, yeah, there's a lot of stuff in the can for good old dead man still walking. But I can let you know when I am. And that is right smack bang in the middle of October 2024.
So I've taken a little bit of a break from some of the zombie fare and just been trying to catch up on 2024 horror movies, trying to get some stuff done for the larger podcast, the new horror movies cast, and also to... lay some groundwork for my best of 2024 list. So I thought it would be advantageous though to drop this recording today because I just had opportunity to watch a movie. on my list and on perhaps your list.
We're talking about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. That's right, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the film from Burr Steers, adapted from the novel by Seth Graham Seth. Smith sorry sorry Seth from the novel by Jane Austen so yeah let's just let's just roll into it it began with the Black Plague Within weeks the dead began to rise. This cannot be. Hunting for human flesh. Now, the few of us that are left have only one way to survive. We must bring the fight.
Okay, I had the chance to watch this just the other night because, you know, Halloween season and the kids want to watch some Halloween-y movies, but they're not quite ready for R-rated fare. So we're looking for some gateway horror from entry-level stuff. Plus, I've got a daughter who is not so much into monsters and horror, but she is very much into romance. So we need a family-friendly romance horror film. Ta-da! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. So a really interesting scenario here, right?
So this made a splash when it was published and started this kind of new sub-genre thing called the literary mashup, which is, okay, we're going to take a well-known, beloved classical novel. And we're going to rewrite it to include something more contemporary or more unusual, something that would be really an unexpected smash together.
Since Jane Austen is dead and the text of Pride and Prejudice is hundreds of years old, that means it's in the public domain. That means that Seth Graham Smith, or anyone for that matter, can take her words and do whatever they want with them. So what he did is he took her novel and then he rewrote parts of it. So he kept parts of it. He rewrote parts of it. He added stuff.
and ended up turning it into a period zombie narrative. So here's the good news. We don't have enough period zombie narratives. I've talked about that before. I love the idea of kind of seeing how zombies would fare in this kind of Victorian era, although I think it's before Victorian. This isn't my area, folks. This is a little bit early for me. But anyway, it's this kind of Regency era.
And we have zombies in it. So that's cool, right? Because we don't have modern technology and modern weaponry and we're going to have to survive this zombie outbreak. And that's cool. The downside is it's kind of one joke. right? The joke is, hey, it's Jane Austen with zombies. And then next chapter, hey, it's Jane Austen with zombies. And then it's, hey, Jane Austen with zombies. So I have a confession to make, gentle listener.
I did not finish reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I read half of it, and I just got so bored because it was the same shtick over and over again. Now, that may be a me problem because I will give it to Graham Smith. He was able to pull some stuff out of the original Austin that's quite clever. It's quite funny, you know, putting these this kind of painful social drama in terms of zombies and zombie apocalyptic stuff. It's clever.
So it was a clever thing. And of all the different, you know, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, I wouldn't even touch it. I think of all the mashups, this is probably the best because it's the OG. And you'll notice it pretty much disappeared within a couple of years because maybe it was hard to do, but also it wasn't very popular among readers. Because honestly, you know, I'm sure that there are listeners who...
love Jane Austen and who love zombies. But I think the audience of people who want to reread a Jane Austen novel and read a zombie novel at the same time may be a small market share. Just putting that out there. Well, enter in Burr Steers. Although, first off, to back up a second, this property was originally optioned for adaptation by Natalie Portman. Natalie Portman wanted to play the zombie fighting Elizabeth Bennett.
And she acquired the rights and she was going to produce. And then it just fell apart. You know, things don't happen the way they're going to happen. And eventually we end up getting it to burst steers. This is one of the reasons why the adaptation took a little while after the book to get off the ground. So I would have loved to see Natalie Portman in this, but we get Lily James instead. I love Lily James. She's super cool. I think she plays this role really well because honestly, she...
is the Elizabeth Bennett character from Pride and Prejudice, but she's also a kick-ass zombie hunter in a corset and dress, and she knows how to use a sword and all that stuff. It's pretty cool. Pretty cool mashup. So we end up with this kind of clever film. Now, just go to Internet Movie Database.
I'll give you their premise. Five sisters in 19th century England must cope with the pressures to marry, that's the book, while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies. That's the new book. So there you go. Very basic overview. It's billed as a dark comedy. There are some kind of comedic moments. But I will say the comedy largely comes from one's familiarity with Jane Austen. And a lot of the funny lines are...
just out of Pride and Prejudice. They're just the humor of Jane Austen. The comedy surrounding the zombies is basically the ludicrousness of the scenario. So put that out there. Internet Movie Database also says zombie horror, and I think that does address the type of violence and gore, because it's a relatively gory PG-13 movie, but it's zombie gore, so it's kind of more black blood. and it's kind of...
cartoonish. But the zombie makeup's good. I'm not going to lie. There's some pretty creepy, disgusting looking zombies in this. And then the third thing is action. Yes, it is an action movie. I would actually maybe put action first. There's a lot of action. Well, let me restate that. When there is action, there's a lot of action. But there are long stretches where there's no action. Because this is apparently also a comedy, fantasy, horror, and romance. So, everything to everyone.
But long story short, this worked for my family because my young son, who was maybe a little young for this, he liked it. He liked the zombies. He liked the action. My young daughter. She loved the romance. She really is into this kind of stuff, and so it made it a little more exciting for her. And then everybody else in the room was just kind of along for the ride.
Didn't mind it at all because it's got some good production values. So anyway, so that's what we're talking about here with pride and prejudice, prejudices and zombies. All right. So what is actually going on in this film? Well, to understand what's going on with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, we have to kind of understand what's going on with Pride and Prejudice. It is a comedy of manners. Jane Austen liked to write about young women who needed...
money. They needed an income. And we're not talking about a class of people that are working class, but we're not talking about a class of people that have a lot of money or aristocratic. We're kind of talking about this middle ground. And she usually tells stories about
Lots of sisters where the dad just isn't going to have enough money to take care of all the daughters. So they've got to get married off because if they don't get married off, they're going to be like stuck working as maids or governesses or school teachers.
teachers and of course we don't want them working that would be the worst so instead we want to find some young man who is eligible and who is going to take care of them now because we're dealing with a certain type of romance novel, a genre that was largely pioneered by Jane Austen, we can't just have a young woman who's very marriageable
meet and fall in love with a young man who is very marriageable. Instead, we have to have a young woman who is challenging, and we have her meet a young man whom she hates. And then we go through a series of misadventures and misunderstandings and gossip. And we find out, oh, actually...
They're perfect for each other. So that's the story. This is hundreds of years old, so I'm not going to give you a spoiler warning. Let's just say that Elizabeth Bennet is a little bit snooty, a little bit independent, doesn't necessarily love all the conventions of her society. And so her family is a little bit concerned about her ability to find a partner like my favorite Jane Austen character, Emma, who is far superior.
Elizabeth seems a little bit more invested in helping other people to find matches and for her to avoid finding the wrong match. So as such, she goes through some close calls and some near misses. So in the narrative, there is a Parson Collins, a cousin who wants to marry her and she doesn't like him. And it's played by Matt Smith in this movie and, you know, Doctor Who fame.
Matt Smith is brilliant. It's my favorite depiction of Parson Collins, the way he plays it. And I could be way wrong, but I believe he is playing it gay. Like he's closeted and is just getting married because a Parson has to have a wife.
because there's some little flirtiness, homosexual flirtation near the end, which I thought was really funny. We also get... we get this kind of sinister guy, George Wickham, played by Jack Houston, and his job is to seduce young women and ruin them and ruin their fortune. And then we have Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy, he's famous in stage and screen. Young women go through a Mr. Darcy phase. Not all, but a lot of them. And he is played by Sam Riley.
So the narrative of Pride and Prejudice does deal with this idea that Elizabeth is really prideful, Mr. Darcy is somewhat prejudiced, and it's about how people have to overcome their expectations imposed upon them by social class. but also by gossip and miscommunication to be willing to be open and honest and to allow themselves to actually fall in love and to be happy. So Elizabeth and Darcy are at odds for most of the narrative.
course, then they come together in the end. Well, that's the novel, and a lot of that is still present in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. One of the things that is prevalent is this sense of kind of social class and how the Bennets are looked down on by the other families. But in this film, it's not necessarily because of their financial status. It's the fact that the Bennets studied their zombie fighting skills in China, not in Japan, where the upper crust gentry go to study. So there's this.
really interesting transposition of... like educational snobbery, but it's in terms of which, which martial arts did you learn and what weapons are you proficient in? And so that's clever. And it's kind of funny because these girls, while they are invested in propriety and, you know, wearing corsets and going to tea and dancing the right dance moves. They're more invested in keeping their weapons sharp and they're being alert and being able to fight.
with high slit dresses so they can high kick and have their weapons. It's very, very cool. There's a lot of slow motion. There's a lot of beautiful women in beautiful period outfits walking slowly with swords. before they engaged with gross and rotting and disgusting zombies.
So if that's something you're into, then you're going to really like this movie. It's going to go over well, I think, in your experience. And that's a lot of what the movie is. We kind of move from one social situation to the next. And we intersperse those moments from the novel with battles against zombies.
I kind of liked one moment about halfway through. They go to a ball and they dance and they're stiff and they don't look like they're very comfortable. And then it devolves into a... combat with zombies and that's the real dance that's the dance at which the bennett girls excel because now they're able to really show their their moves on the quote-unquote dance floor And so, yeah, clever stuff. Nice stuff. I liked it. I thought it was neat.
to a certain extent, very, very well choreographed. And it does reveal how both dance scenes and fight scenes are choreographed. They both have to be very carefully put together. I do like the chemistry between our leads and the fact that in this version, Mr. Darcy is drawn to Elizabeth's
prowess with the sword and her fearlessness in the face of zombies and her ability to protect her family that's quite clever there is a conceit with these zombies as long as these zombies are fed they stay pretty rational And so there is this sense of, you know, maybe if we can keep the zombies fed, they can be fine, especially if they don't eat human brains, we can feed them something else. Because, in essence, the zombies of Pride and Prejudice and zombies...
are very similar to the zombies in the television series iZombie. That is, while they are dead and they are corpses, as long as they have their brains, they remain dead. and cognizant and human for all intents and purposes. Well, as you all know, this is not my favorite kind of zombie, and I sure know it's not Greg's. So we have zombies that are talking and that to a certain extent could pass as human.
And so there's a little bit of jokes here and there about the smell. And one of the ways Mr. Darcy... the zombie hunter and soldier, one of the ways he finds out which zombies are passing as humans is he has a little jar of flies that he lets out because the flies will go and land on the corpse. and reveal the zombie.
At which point, once the zombies revealed is passing, they become really feral and they fight back and they attack. So there's a lot of stuff going on in this that is similar to what you'd see in something like Blade Runner. passing monster is backed into a corner and then becomes ferocious. So that's going on. Now, not all the zombies can pass because as they increase in their decomposition, they become pretty gross.
wounds and blood and missing body parts and eyeballs. And that's what I mentioned before. I think the makeup in this film is Pretty commendable. I thought it looked good. I thought some of the zombies were really pretty gross. Pretty upsetting with some good wounds. And that's why I was a little concerned about the 11-year-old having nightmares.
But he seemed to enjoy it. So I know that my Avengers are showing their 11-year-old kids stuff like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I'm not quite there with mine. But it was still accessible. And it was, like I said, it was more... cartoon gross, cartoon violence, that sort of thing.
So naturally, we can't leave it at just a zombie outbreak. We have to escalate things to the point of zombie apocalypse. And so there's this big journey into London and into deeply into infested territories. And then there is an alleged. plot twist that most of my kids figured out long before it was revealed on the film, and it gives us a climactic showdown between the heroes and the anti-heroes, the protagonists and the antagonists.
like in the novel, but not remotely like in the novel because there's much more violence and a lot more explosions. Because we have to blow up stuff, blowing up bridges and trying to get the zombies isolated from the rest of the population. Similar to Land of the Zombies, but in reverse. So, yeah, there's that stuff going on. And then because it's a Jane Austen romance, we end with a wedding. Yay. And it's a double wedding. And I can't remember because I'm an Americanist.
can't remember if the double wedding is in the novel or if it's just in the movie. But yeah, everybody gets married and they're going to live happily ever after. Or are they leaving the door open for a sequel that apparently isn't going to happen because it's been eight years already? But who knows? We may still get a sequel. I don't think it's going to happen, though.
So there you go. It is trying to do some social commentary. It is trying to do some stuff about class. Obviously, it's talking about gender and gender roles and using this kind of old sensibility to show that. Yes, even if given a chance, women hundreds of years ago probably would have been more capable and independent as well. So there is a message to it. And it's pretty much the same as the message of the original novel. So just kind of moving into final thoughts, I think...
I think the film does a really great job with what it was given with the source material. It is a mashup, and it's a mashup that really caters to a very specific audience. If you are a Jane Austen fan, you're going to find this more clever and funny than if you're not. If you're a zombie fan, you're going to find this more enjoyable than a Jane Austen fan who hates zombies. But you really have to like both to really enjoy this film.
I have it on good authority that the best Pride and Prejudice is the BBC miniseries with Colin Firth as Darcy and Jenner. prefer Ayla as Elizabeth. That's the one apparently you're supposed to check out. Just notice there's another Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Yeah, that's weird. I am more familiar with the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice. That film is overtly referenced, if not parodied or mocked by this film. So good on you there. I like that, too. Not a huge fan.
of this type of zombie, but it's played for comedy, which is okay, right? If we're going to have talking zombies, then don't give me a serious zombie movie. Give me a lighthearted and fun zombie movie instead. That's what this is. Um, lots of action. And so recently some of the guys recently for me, it was a long time ago for you. Some of the boys were talking about what do you do with action horror? And some people really like action horror and some people don't want action in their horror.
But here's the ultimate problem. Because of the romance... because of the source material, because of the social commentary and historical fiction aspect, because of the action hero moments and the explosions and all the slow motion, there's not much opportunity for the horror. It's mostly an action romance comedy.
with monsters. So it is, I will admit, this is technically a horror movie, but it's not much of a horror movie. And as we were watching it as a family for the October season, I found myself thinking, well... This isn't really a scary movie. It's not really a Halloween movie. We probably could have watched something else that would have done a better job of getting us the feels, the feels of the season.
But I liked it better than I remember having liked it because I have watched it a couple of times before. This was like a third watch. I was able to enjoy it, and I think maybe seeing my kids enjoy it was nice. So as far as gateway horror goes, sure, it's probably pretty good. If you have...
teenage daughters who just won't watch zombie movies with you, this is your in. Try to get them to watch this one with you. And if you have to, do a double feature. You know, watch the Keira Knightley movie first and then watch this movie. Everybody wins. Everybody gets something they want. But I'm gonna have to come down on a 7 out of 10 on this one because I do
Because it does fall short for me in some of the areas. But the production value is pretty high. And the acting is pretty good. I mean, there's not much range that is required of these folks. And the slow motion is cool. There's just too much of it. So, yeah, 7 out of 10. I would say this is probably a priority stream. It is available to stream right now on Peacock. If you have the Peacock, it's on Prime, but you have to rent it. So I own it.
Of course. So I would recommend it. But I don't know if it's going to be a great Halloween movie. But for you, Halloween isn't here yet. Or has passed. Or... is maybe it's Halloween 2025 right now. I don't know. I have no idea what happens in the podcasting time verse. So there you go. Pride and Prison Zombies, 7 out of 10. Check it out, especially with your kids.
So what does that mean for the show? I don't know what I promised you last time, but I don't think I delivered on what I promised because I ended up doing this after kind of inadvertently watching it. I think what I'm going to do is go back and hit a bunch of 1970s zombie films that I've kind of missed.
But I will, I do reserve the right, as with last time with Handling the Undead, I do reserve the right to interrupt my flow at any moment with a new zombie movie, or apparently one that my family watches and I wasn't planning on. watching so what I've got kind of lined up in the future from the 70s we're gonna look at I drink your blood we're gonna look at dead of night we may look at this this piece called sugar hill
And then we roll into the early 80s with Nightmare City and Zombie Lake and Knights of Terror, Oasis of the Zombies. These are all the films that are going to kind of bring us through the 70s and into the 80s. everything's going to change at 1983 but it's going to take quite a few episodes to get there so Don't be too anxious about it. I am also going to continue going backwards. So I missed one from 2021 that I want to grab called Brain Freeze. And then I'm going to do a special episode.
of the Dead Don't Die. Dead Don't Die, pretty major film, and I'm going to have a special guest to tackle that one. So those are just some of the things that are coming up. Can't promise what order they are coming up. I'm also planning to do a special episode for my... 50th, our 50th episode of Dead Man Still Walking. We'll have Jay on and we're going to do something different to mark the 50th. So stay tuned for that one. It's three episodes away.
Alright, so as always, thanks for tuning in. If you feel so inclined, please share this podcast with others if you think other people would be interested in learning about zombie movies and getting some recommendations and some analysis. open for communication and contact. I'm really bad at checking the website, but if you want to reach out, if you want to give me any recommendations or if you want to rebut anything I've said, Just email me. I'm at bishopk at su.edu. B-I-S-H-O-P-K.
Plus, if you just Google Kyle Bishop zombie, you're going to find me really easy. But anyway, this is Dr. Walking Dead Dunn signing off for Jay of the Dead's new horror movies, a la Dead Man Still Walking. Bye. Bye. Bye. was trying to drive away in a vehicle that is now on fire.