The “Anna and the Apocalypse” movie came out swinging its blood-covered candy cane in 2018. I didn’t like the idea of a horror-comedy movie with singing. I’m not that big on Christmas movies at all and this one boasted ugly Christmas sweaters, Christmas lights, and zombies all in one go. Headlines about it being like “Shaun of the Dead” mashed up against La La Land were how it was described.
The Anna and the Apocalypse poster has “This year’s feel-good Christmas hit” across its background. The thought of zombies, singing, and feeling good about Christmas made me frown. However, 2020 seemed like a good year to watch a film like Anna and the Apocalypse, don’t you think? A small town ravaged by a virus that’s sweeping the world. Set in a school with a bunch of teenagers trying desperately to get from point A to point B seemed much more fitting in a year like 2020.
This comedy and horror movie is overall however less like Shaun of the Dead meets La La Land. It’s more like what I imagine would happen if zombies infected the cast of Glee. Granted I’m not a big fan of the Glee TV show either.
Anna and the Apocalypse is an unhinged vocalized journey of Anna as she desperately tries to find her father doesn’t hit every note but it’s clever. Performances from its singing and dancing troupe are, in a word, marvelous. In spates where I wasn’t waiting for it to be over, the voices of Ella Hunt and Marli Siu would be worth the price of admission alone.
Anna and the Apocalypse Songs
And then there are the songs. Mother of Movies is a fan of original music in films. My first experience of this was with Moulin Rouge which graced the screens in 2001 and showed me that lyrics could tell a story in a captivating way. Anna and the Apocalypse didn’t have a 50 million dollar budget and award-winning writers. Comparably though, even the songs that are probably there as supporting numbers, are pretty good. There’s a particularly silly but funny song about penguins in the first quarter that I went back and rewatched.
Most of the comedy included in Anna and the Apocalypse is like spattered high-end dad jokes, but I liked that about it. Zombie kills are low-key and will not appease those looking for violence and heavy-handed kills. But there are one or two that will appease with a nifty toilet seat kill among noteworthy mentions. What I wasn’t prepared for was the Game of Thrones-worthy movie deaths.
Anna and the Apocalypse might look like a razzle-dazzle production trying to bring music to wanna-be horror fans but it’s got teeth. As someone who relishes horror movies, I found the resulting death scenes a brightly lit drop of shocking surprise in a somewhat saccharine zombie movie. Without it, I would have been left with more of a “meh” instead of recommending it to those who have also not ticked this one off your watchlist.
Anna and the Apocalypse is rated
3.5 Buy the soundtrack and play it at Christmastime out of 5
Great Christmas Horror
Is Anna And The Apocalypse a Good Movie?
- Cast for Anna and the Apocalypse: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Ben Wiggins, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Marli Siu, Mark Benton & Paul Kaye.
- Directed by: John McPhail
- Written by: Alan McDonald & Ryan McHenry
- Distributor: Orion Pictures
- You can watch “Anna and the Apocalypse” movie on most streaming platforms for free or with a subscription. Try ReelGood.com for more direct ways to watch if you’re in the UK or USA.
What’s Your Favorite C-word?
“John: You smell like a shoe.
Anna Shepherd: Christmas is fast becoming my least favorite “C” word.
John: You wouldn’t’ be saying that if you were dressed like a festive legend!
Anna Shepherd: You’re right. Dressed like that, you look like a massive “C” word!”
John and Anna quote from Anna and the Apocalypse
