Anna and the Apocalypse review.
The Christmas zombie musical everyone needs as we turn from spooky season to finding a station without that Mariah Carey song season. Anna and the Apocalypse delivers exactly what it advertises. Songs, blood and holiday cheer.
Classic movie review will contain spoilers.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Directed by John McPhail
Screenplay by Alan McDonald and Ryan McHenry
Starring Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming and Sarah Swire
Anna and the Apocalypse Review
Anna and the Apocalypse doesn’t break new ground so much as perform a musical number on top of a well tread one. We’ve seen regular people deal with a zombie invasion with humor and fun gore effects movie before. We just haven’t seen it with a melody.
That’s not to dismiss the non-musical aspects of Anna and the Apocalypse. There’s a fine, if sparse, movie underneath the musical aesthetic. Likable characters with relatable problems thrust into a world plummeted into walking death is a tried-and-true story at this point. But the movie doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel to be an entertaining entry. Consider the songs a pretty bow sitting atop a well-made, comfortably familiar package.
Anna (Ella Hunt) and her friends wake up to find a zombie apocalypse has invaded their town. They fight their way through with a weapon in hand and a song in their heart. Anna hopes to find her father alive at the school, unaware that zombies are not the only danger should they survive the journey.
The best thing Anna and the Apocalypse does to the formula is not, in fact, having its characters break into songs and choreographed dance routines. That is certainly the calling card of the movie…and the thing you are going to be waiting for as scenes unfold. But it isn’t what you’re going to be thinking about after it ends. What’s going to be left with you is how wonderfully three dimensional the characters are.
Relationships between characters in Anna and the Apocalypse are deep, believable and relatable. You not only care about these people…you are invested in their lives. The zombies here are less interesting than the real-world problems. They aren’t really treated as anything but a hassle either. Until they inevitably get to do what zombies always do. And for fans of zombie mayhem…you will get enough of that too.
When Anna loses people close to her you care about it because the relationships feel so real. There are moments of true sadness in between the songs and zombie kills. Of course, song and zombie kills are what you expect going into a movie like this. That’s why we’ve spent the bulk of the Anna and the Apocalypse review so far talking about the rest of what it has to offer. It’s not simply the zombie Christmas musical.
But…it is a zombie Christmas musical. So, let’s talk about it. From the first time a zombie is beheaded in hilarious fashion…the movie makes clear you are supposed to have fun here. This is the most Shaun of the Dead aspect of the film. A lot of fun is had hiding and running…but the movie gives you a healthy amount of beating the hell out of the undead.
The eighth paragraph of our Anna and the Apocalypse review is where we finally tackle the musical part of the film. The songs in the movie are…fine. They’re empty calorie candy. When you’re watching them with all the spectacle and dancing…they provide moments of joy. But you won’t be singing any of the songs to yourself after it’s over. Nothing will worm its way into your head and refuse to leave. The usage of music in the movie is very much to live briefly as a unique experience and move on. Most importantly…it does accomplish that goal of providing a different experience.
We haven’t gotten around to mentioning that it’s a Christmas movie for a reason. There’s no real purpose to it. We do get a giant candy cane weapon and decorations and even a zombie in a snowman costume. The look of Christmas is all over the frame. It just feels…incidental. Having the movie set at Christmas solely for the aesthetic is perfectly fine and it does provide good eye candy. It’s just another thing you won’t really be thinking about Anna and the Apocalypse after the credits roll.
Scare Value
It’s not completely fair to say that there’s never been a movie like Anna and the Apocalypse. Plenty of movies share its tone and subject matter. The musical aspect is the aspect that will makes it stand out initially…but the strength of the character relationships and sense of fun are what makes it a great watch. You could do a lot worse as we transition from Halloween to Christmas. You could do a lot worse any time of year.
4/5
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