A number of years ago there was a fad happening in fiction where authors would take pre-existing classic novels that had lapsed into the public domain and mash them up with the horror genre, creating arguably a whole new work. There was a slew of them published by Quirk Books in 2009 and 2010, including the wonderfully silly Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, but it all began with Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in which he took Jane Austen’s story and gave it a horror makeover. And ninjas. Seriously.
There were many knock-offs as well, other publishers trying to cash in on a trend they knew wouldn’t last long, and it didn’t. Grahame-Smith went on to write Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and eventually became a writer for film, television, and comics. During this time the novel that started it all was optioned for the big screen by Sony. The book that Quirk almost didn’t publish due to the fear of alienating Austen’s fans will be in the theater in just over a month, and the producers would like to wish you a happy new year.
And just in case you’ve forgotten your classics, here’s a synopsis and trailer for the film:
A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in this reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper class prejudice. As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join forces on the blood-soaked battlefield in order to conquer the undead once and for all.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies hits theaters on February 5th, 2016.