Anna and the Apocalypse Review

R: Zombie violence and gore, language, and some sexual material

Orion Pictures, Blazing Griffin, Parkhouse Pictures, Constellation Creatives, Creative Scotland

1 Hr and 32 Minutes

Dir: John McPhail | Writers: Alan McDonald, Ryan McHenry

Cast: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Marli Siu, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Ben Wiggins

Release Date: Nov. 30 2018 (Limited) | Dec. 7 2018 (Wide)

When the zombie apocalypse hits the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas - teenager Anna and her high school friends have to fight, sing and dance to survive, with the undead horde all around them. Teaming up with her best friend John, Anna has to fight her way through zombified snowmen, Santas, elves and Christmas shoppers to get across town to the high school, where they'll be safe. But they soon discover that being a teenager is just as difficult as staying alive, even at the end of the world.

Christmas is just around the corner and you know what that means. We’re about to receive some oddball Christmas comedies that are usually hit or miss. Shoot, most of them aim to be raunchy and edgy and attempt so damn hard to become a notable holiday film. “Anna and the Apocalypse” is an edgy Christmas comedy, but it’s also one of the most wholesome holiday films I’ve seen in a long time. Honestly, the film doesn’t have a distinct genre for it juggles through a number of them. This movie has a checklist and it perfectly marks off the genres it journeys through. While it is a musical, it is also a dark comedy, a horror, a drama, and a coming-of-age film. It juggles a bunch of genres but where it succeeds the most at is the comedy.

The way the film succeeds in humor is very reminiscent of the Trey Parker and Matt Stone stylings of comedy. They love old school, traditional musicals and they have proven that time and time again through film and a successful Broadway play, but they never shy away from adding vulgar and risque lyrics. Their movie “South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut” was living proof of that.

So, part of what makes the musical aspect work in the same vein as “South Park” is the way the sequences and score pay homage to traditional musicals, but the lyrics often contain a bold edge that makes some of the songs both catchy and memorable. If some, or even one, of the songs end up getting a Best Original Song nomination this awards season, it’ll definitely be well deserved.

Part of the film’s charm is its art direction and choreography. The film’s beginning is very reminiscent of “High School Musical” in terms of cinematography. Also, by choreography I don’t just mean the dancing that accompanies the music sequences, but the way how scenes of action play out for comedic effect. The film is bombarded with visual humor that occurs in both the foreground and background of scenes which results in hysterical laughter. The unparalleled events which happen in one scene, such as characters singing on their way to school unbothered while in the background people are being devoured and murdered, is just a taste of how downright funny the movie is.  Even when the film reaches a lull in the story, the humor keeps it moving.

A major engaging element of “Anna and the Apocalypse” is the cast who are all charismatically fun to watch. It features the typical high school character types such as teens who dream to be anywhere but home, the teacher who hates his job, the eccentric and quirky people (including the bumbling best friend that’s in love with our lead), and the bold, obnoxious badass. The characters they portray, albeit not being completely fleshed out, and the situation they are in makes you resonate with them wholeheartedly. Plus, they all have such great singing voices. I used this joke before in a previous musical review, but thankfully nobody here is pulling a Russell Crowe. You enjoy the characters introduced and the relationship they share. The chemistry between Anna and her best friend John is another one of the charming aspects of the film and you love them all the way through. They kind of have a Ron Stoppable/Kim Possible dynamic and they’re just so fun to watch, for they bounce dialogue off each other effectively.

As the story progresses, there comes a point where it kicks into high gear and finally goes from comedy to drama. The characters are so likable that you feel for them and hope they all make it out alive. You’re having fun and all, but the movie just shifts by the third act and it delivers a buttload of genuine feels.

The way I feel towards the characters in this film is the same way I felt towards the show “Victorious” where everyone else is more fun than the main character. The movie is named “Anna and the Apocalypse” and, lo and behold, she’s the least interesting character. Ella Hunt delivers a great charismatic performance, but there isn’t much to Anna at all. As I said, all of the characters are thin, but they have quirks. Some side characters have musical sequences and subplots that overshadow our lead.

The songs are catchy and fun, but some of the music is too familiar and not that memorable. Like, there’s a scene where a group of boys are kicking zombie ass and are singing, but the song has literally the same beat as “Eye of the Tiger”. I shit you not, I muttered the lyrics “THE EYE OF THE TIGER” in the theater and it matched so much to the beat. The songs are inspired by 80’s music but they follow a traditional 70’s musical style and it works more often than not.

For a film featuring zombies, creatures who eat brains, this is surprisingly full of ‘em. Similar to Edgar Wright’s “Shaun of the Dead” or, in my opinion, 2013’s “Warm Bodies”, it takes a horror setting and applies it to an genre you wouldn’t conventionally expect it to be placed in and succeeds in all cylinders. Honestly, this is what “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” should’ve been.

Excuse my lingo, but this screenplay (written by Alan McDonald and the late Ryan McHenry) fucking slaps, for this is one of the funniest movies this year. While this is written by both of them, this is truly the passion child of Ryan McHenry (creator of one of the funniest series of Vines of all time).

Yeah, you know this iconic vine series. Ryan McHenry, the creator of the “Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal” also single handedly created this short film in 2011 called “Zombie Musical” which was the basis of the film. Not only did that short help him receive a BAFTA, but it also gave him the opportunity to develop that very short into the film we have here. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the project himself due to his untimely death at the hands of cancer in 2015. Thankfully, because of the amount of effort that co-writer and co-director John McPhail put in, the end result is a treat that does McHenry and his creativity justice.

Dark, gory, funny, and full of kickass yuletide cheer, “Anna and the Apocalypse” benefits from a charismatic cast, an inventive screenplay, and catchy tunes making it a holiday treat.

Rating: 4/5 | 87%

Super Scene: “No Such Thing As A Hollywood Ending”