ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE: Christmas Musical Is Gory, Charming & Downright Delightful

With its truly wild combination of genres and tones, Anna and the Apocalypse almost always feels like several different movies at once. Depending on the scene, director John McPhail‘s film is either a show-stopping musical, a gory zombie flick, a John Hughes movie, or a heartfelt tale of leaving home – and these radically different modes often overlap with reckless abandon. If you look in the dictionary under “high concept,” I’m pretty sure this film comes up as a result. Even with a low budget and small-town stakes, the ambition on display is seriously impressive.

And it’s a genuine Christmas miracle that it all works so wonderfully.

See, I kind of knew this would be my jam before I even sat down in the theater. Just the very idea of a Christmas musical with zombies is utterly thrilling; it’s an idea so inspired and so delectably odd that I almost feel like this was made with my tastes in mind. But even if you’re down for the basic concept, Anna and the Apocalypse is thoroughly unpredictable and surprising at every turn.

It’s a downright terrific high school movie, turning the Disneyfied fun of High School Musical upside down with a healthy dose of the undead and some killer songs. I was prepared for zombies and show tunes, but I never expected to simply fall in love with this whole crazy world.

The Living Dead Interrupt Everyday Life

It’s Christmastime in the small town of Little Haven, which means Anna Shepherd (Ella Hunt) and her friends are nearing the halfway point of their final year of school. Anna is supposed to go to university next year, but during a car ride with her dad (Mark Benton), her best friend John (Malcolm Cumming) accidentally reveals that she’ll be taking a year off to travel around the globe. Her father isn’t happy, but if you were Anna, you’d probably want an escape from small town life too. Under the new leadership of Headmaster Savage (Paul Kaye), school will be even more miserable than ever. Anna has a good set of friends-  John, Steph (Sarah Swire), Chris (Christopher Leveaux), and Lisa (Marli Siu) – but it’s time to go.

Of course, it’s not easy to leave. These friends have come to rely on each other, and losing Anna to the outside world would be a blow. Anna’s departure is particularly hard for John – they’re best friends, but it’s clear he wants something more that may never be reciprocated. Still, they share some nice moments together, and it seems like they might be on their way to figuring life out even as they go their separate ways.

And then the apocalypse begins. The spread of an unknown pathogen sends the globe into total chaos, encompassing Little Haven and turning the population to zombies. First, Anna doesn’t know what to do; after all, she just decapitated a snowman in the park on a cloudy day. But once she realizes that, no, this is not a nightmare, it’s time to fight back. Along with John, Steph, Chris, and zombie-slaying ex-boyfriend Nick (Ben Wiggins), Anna faces off against an army of brain-eating creatures, forging a warpath back to their high school and her father.

Lovable Characters Meet Zombie Chaos

Along the way, Anna runs into plenty of problems – a nihilistic villain who wants to see humanity crumble, downed cellphone towers, the death of beloved friends, and much more. The film continually alters audience expectations, but of all the surprises in store here, I was genuinely stunned by how dark this thing gets. Characters die, the consequences are real, and the emotional stakes are continually high; director McPhail and co-writers Alan McDonald and the late Ryan McHenry (the creator of the original short, who passed away in 2015; the film is dedicated to him) understand that the end of the world isn’t exactly a laughing matter. But when your elevator pitch is “zombie Christmas musical,” the occasional grimness of the endeavor comes as a bit of a shock to the system.

In a different world, this kind of dramatic heft would seem silly in such an outrageous adventure. Here, it never approaches self-seriousness or misguided folly, instead showing the genuine affection McPhail and company have for these kids. You can’t nearly make your audience cry without crafting some terrific characters in the process, and I almost love Anna and the Apocalypse as a great high school story above anything else. So many high school movies get the experience wrong, but this one captures everything perfectly, from the bonds of friendship to the sheer boredom of everyday existence.

Part of the film’s emotional pull comes from the terrific core of actors. Ella Hunt is the clear standout as the eponymous heroine, but virtually everyone is crucial to the overall puzzle: Malcolm Cumming‘s dopey best friend, Paul Kaye‘s mustache-twirling principal, Sarah Swire‘s lonely teenage journalist, and more. But in the midst of the wonderful collision between musical bliss and honest pathos, McPhail sets a few bread crumbs for where we might be headed. If there’s no such thing as a “Hollywood Ending” and we’ve all been living in a Disney fairy tale, the film forcefully backs that up in fun, often tragic ways.

Show Tunes in a Blood Bath

Still, I don’t want to make it seem like this is all doom and gloom. Sure, it’s a movie about the end of the world, but this is far from a sad trip to the theater. During a time of year that inundates critics with tragedies of the utmost importance, Anna and the Apocalypse slapped an enormous smile on my face from the smash of the title card to the final scare. McPhail commits to everything he attempts in this bold little concoction, from the high school setting to the extreme gore of the zombie apocalypse. Without everyone leaning into the fun of it all, I’m not sure what the final product looks like.

Naturally, the most noteworthy aspect might just be the film’s eclectic assortment of songs, which are somehow both perfectly suited for the action and catchy earworms in their own right. Every original musical is a gift these days, and Anna and the Apocalypse has some of the best music of the year; yes, this soundtrack is even better than A Star is Born‘s collection of anthems. McPhail stages the numbers with a particular sort of exuberance and grace, playing up the silliness and the utter joy of having characters break into song and dance. When “Hollywood Ending,” the film’s centerpiece number, concludes, everyone just dashes off to class like nothing ever happened. It’s a small touch, but it’s guaranteed to give any musical fan a little rush.

Of course, much of the fun comes from seeing the zombie tropes and the musical numbers clash. Anna and John dance through town during “Turning My Life Around,” waltzing through the beginning of the apocalypse, as bodies fly out of windows and into the streets. The Ben Wiggins-led “Soldier At War” marries zombie killing and musical gusto with a particular type of glee, with Nick hacking and slashing as he sings what basically feels like his theme song. And then there’s the final burst of “Give Them A Show,” a highlight that sees Anna take control of her destiny.

Anna and the Apocalypse: Conclusion

To discuss the full-fledged commitment of Anna and the Apocalypse to its wicked genre mash-up almost implies a level of naivete, as if the filmmakers are glossing over important mechanics in favor of some kind of broad celebration of absurdity. But what’s remarkable about the film is that it never feels like McPhail or the actors are winking at us – there’s a feeling of earnestness throughout and it just works. You’ll fall in love with these characters, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to return time and time again. I’ve listened to the soundtrack while writing this review, and I’ll probably be listening to it for a few months.

In simpler terms, Anna and the Apocalypse is a roller-coaster of inspired madness, great music, and surprising emotional weight. So why aren’t you on your way to the theater already?

What did you think of Anna and the Apocalypse? Would you be excited for more high-concept Christmas movies? Let us know in the comments below!

Anna and the Apocalypse was released in US and UK theaters on November 30, 2018. For full international release information, click here.