‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Trailer: A Woman’s Place Is in Battle, Not in the Kitchen

Following the debut of the first teaser a couple of weeks ago comes the first full trailer for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith’s mashup that combines — well, the title makes it obvious, no? Corsets, zombies, proper ladies training themselves in the art of war…it’s all just sort of delightfully bonkers. Here’s hoping the full film can live up to the insanity of the trailers.

The concept alone is silly: Grahame-Smith’s book repurposes Pride and Prejudice, making a few changes to transform Jane Austen’s classic romance novel into a story about women fighting off zombies. Mashups are inherently low-brow and when Burr Steers’ adaptation of Grahame-Smith’s book was initially announced, it seemed like we’d have another Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (also a Grahame-Smith joint) on our hands.

But! The trailers promise some clever concepts and dark humor, along with badass women demolishing zombies while wearing corsets, with the running theme being — as Charles Dance’s character so wonderfully puts it — that a woman’s place is not in the kitchen, but in battle.

Lily James (Cinderella) plays classic literary hero Elizabeth Bennet with Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy in the film, which is officially described as follows:

A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy 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.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies also stars Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Jack Huston, Lena Headey and Suki Waterhouse, and hits theaters on February 5, 2016.