For the book:
- Just Here for Godzilla: From the back cover: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read."
- The most readable thing is probably the back cover itself, if only for the About The Author lines. "Jane Austen is the author of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and other masterpieces of English literature. Seth Grahame-Smith once took a class in English literature."
- Amazon's variant is better still. "Jane Austen is the author of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and other masterpieces of English literature. Seth Grahame-Smith is the author of How to Survive a Horror Movie and The Big Book of Porn."
- Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: As in the original, Kitty and Lydia spend the first two books as clones of their mother, completely shallow and concerned with nothing but nabbing a rich husband. But by Dreadfully Ever After, Kitty has matured considerably, ashamed of her previous behavior and determined to help her family any way she can.
- So Okay, It's Average: In the minds of some people.
- Squick: Every scene featuring Charlotte after she is infected.
- Tear Jerker: Elizabeth discovers a little boy zombie chained up in a bedroom and thinks it's some kind of sick joke until she realizes that his mother still loves him and keeps him around because he's all she has left. The scene is so pathetic that Elizabeth spares the boy and leaves the place in tears.
- "The world is mad! The world is mad, and it makes not a bit of difference!"
For the Film of the Book:
- Alternative Character Interpretation: It's left unclear whether Lydia left with Wickham on her own volition or was kidnapped or coerced into going with him. With his Adaptational Villainy, Wickham would have been capable of doing such a cruel act. Lydia does seem to take her fighting responsibilities seriously, so in one probable scenario, Wickham may have lured her by telling her that her sister was in trouble, and Lydia, in her impetuous youth, did not stop to think why Wickham would ask for her help alone.
- Complete Monster: George Wickham is now a murderer who implicitly killed Darcy Sr. for the inheritance. After squandering said inheritance, Wickham later comes in possession of zombies he "civilizes" with pig brains and decides to unleash, as well as more of the undead hordes, on London. Leading them through many deaths of civilians, Wickham unleashes his armies on London to slaughter the populace until he can rule the city as a king. Declaring himself The Antichrist out to lead the dead, Wickham attempts to murder Darcy and later arrives at the end to attack Darcy and Elizabeth's wedding party to kill all of the Bennet family.
- Critical Dissonance: Critics don't seem to have responded well to the film, but audience reactions are more favourable.
- Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Matt Smith as Mr. Collins is a highly praised part, stealing every scene he's in.
- Likewise Lady Catherine because she's played by Lena Headey, is famed for zombie killing and has an eyepatch.
- Estrogen Brigade: Both Mr. Bingley and Mr. Wickham have a considerable female following.
- Fan-Preferred Couple: Lizzie and Collins have some traction now, especially since their actors were dating. There appears to be more Belligerent Sexual Tension here than in other versions, due to the chemistry between them.
- Genius Bonus: After their wedding kisses, Jane smiles and Elizabeth laughs with joy. This is in reference to Elizabeth's quote in the Austen text, where she compares the new brides' happiness."I am happier than even Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Lizzie repeatedly rebuffing Mr. Collins becomes even more hilarious with the knowledge that their actors were dating at the time.
- Lily James, who plays Lizzie, had played the best friend to the 2005 adaptation's Jane (Rosamund Pike) in Wrath of the Titans.
- Hollywood Homely: Charlotte here is considerably cuter than her novel counterpart, who is meant to be plain. Although nobody comments on her attractiveness, she still accepts Collins's proposal because she feels she has no better prospects.
- Love to Hate: Matt Smith's pompous and arrogant take on Mr. Collins...sorry Parson Collins. He's a complete twat and yet he's the most entertaining character in the movie.
- Narm Charm: It features Proper Ladies of Regency England going around fighting zombies, all the while talking about Shaolin Training in flowery old fashioned langugage. And yet every one of the actors is clearly committing to the material to make it work. According to Lily James, this was invoked by the director. He told them to play their scenes as seriously as possible, and the humour would come from that rather than a "wink to the audience".
- Obvious Judas: Even if you have zero prior knowledge of the book or its adaptations, the revelation that Wickham is evil should come as no surprise, what with him showing up unexpectedly at night, being buddies with the zombies, and smirking all the time.
- So Okay, It's Average: The critical consensus is hovering steadily at "mixed" - as of Feb. 15, 2016, it has a 43% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
- Squick: The first proper zombie we see has half her face rotted off and mucus coming out of her nose.
- Tear Jerker: The fate of the late Mr. Darcy. As soon as he announced his intention of leaving Wickham an inheritance, he was mysteriously infected and had to be taken care of.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Charles Dance plays Mr. Bennet as the patriarch of a family of zombie hunting Action Girls, and yet he has hardly any screen time.
