“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

It is not universally known, however, if this new adaptation of Jane Austin’s classic “Pride and Prejudice” will be able to fully reach either the purists or the modern zombie-loving audiences alike. Seth Grahame-Smith’s book adaption of Austen’s 19th century classic now has ladies trading in their “accomplishments” in music and etiquette for training in the dark arts. Despite generally following the plot line of both Austen’s and Grahame-Smith’s works and delivering a few bloody battles with the “sorry stricken,” director Burr Steer’s film fails to find a balance between romance and horror.

Played by up-and-coming actress Lily James, Elizabeth Bennet is presented with both the class and wit that Austen herself transcribed, but with the edge and agility Grahame-Smith adds to her character. James, who recently played the role of Cinderella in Disney’s newest version, excelled in delivering the strength and personality expected of such an iconic character as Elizabeth. She stepped out of those glass slippers and her skills never failed, whether with katana, musket or sharp tongue to assail her opponents.

For those of us who may not be as educated in this subject, there are many levels to zombies: The mindless, slow movers in “The Walking Dead,” the speed demons found in “World War Z” and the intelligent zombies similar to those of the horror classic, “Night of the Living Dead.” It is this last group that Grahame-Smith chose for his adaptation. These “unmentionables,” as they are referred to, move with the ease of any human while still possessing mind enough to speak and trick their victims.

Similar to the book, the film utilizes intense martial arts skills in some pretty impressive fight scenes, both with the dead and living. One of the more impressive scenes actually took place between James’ character, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy, played by Sam Riley. The tension felt between these two characters fills the scene, and for those of us who read both the original and adapted versions of “Pride and Prejudice,” it is a much-appreciated moment.

Elizabeth unleashed years of training in the dark arts upon Darcy, she is met with both equal ability and sexual desire from her opponent. The best moment is when Elizabeth gains the upper hand while holding Darcy’s head locked between her ankles. Up until then, it was not always clear whether these two characters were struggling with feelings for one another or not. Often times, feelings were mentioned quickly or alluded to.

The actor who left the most memorable impression was Matt Smith and his hilarious portrayal of Mr. Collins. With a delivery that was always awkward and invasive, I found myself hanging onto his every word.

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” while unique in genre and style, did not quite hit it out of the park. The film does deliver most of the classic story-line for the purists and it carries enough flesh-tearing zombie attacks to call it a horror film, but the struggle is the film’s balance.

At times, it pushes too hard into the romantic story in the backdrop, while at other times there is not nearly enough time with the undead.

Grahame-Smith wrote a much more developed version in his novel but, unfortunately, the film was unable to translate this to the screen. The ending was begging for one final show of zombies. Maybe it is the PG-13 rating, or maybe Grahame-Smith gave up too much of his original ideas to write the screenplay, but whatever it was, it needed just that extra push to get it that much further.

Remember, “…a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains,” and in the end, I was left wanting more, too.

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