Trying to do something new with zombies is really difficult. We’ve seen every sort of formula, genre adhesion and camera style to make zombies seem played out because there’s not much less to do with them.
Enter Anna and the Apocalypse, a musical coming of age set during the zombie apocalypse.
Anna (Ella Hunt) and her friends are near the end of their high school experience in the sleepy town of Little Haven when zombies happen. They sing, dance and fight their way to surviving it. It’s a Christmas themed zombie film, too, so there’s plenty of holiday themed zombie violence.
It’s certainly a different take on zombies as we’re dropped into a British High School Musical that gets invaded by zombies. And it works because it’s so different; between music numbers and zombie fights we’re given a solid coming of age film.
It keeps us on our toes; this film is never boring because we have something happening. They’re singing, they’re dancing, we have interesting character moments and occasionally a zombie gets killed.
It isn’t in that Shaun of the Dead level brilliance in terms of being a genre film that appeals beyond genre enthusiasts… but it’s a fun indie film definitely worth checking out in Red Box.
A brief EPK piece is the only thing included.
Cinedigm presents Anna and the Apocalypse. Directed by John McPhail. Written by Alan McDonald and Ryan McHenry based on the stage play “Zombie Musical” by McHenry. Starring Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Marli Siu. Run Time: 98 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: 10.1.2019
