The peaceful village of Little Haven is threatened by a zombie apocalypse, forcing Anna and her pals to battle, fighting all the hurdles to try to meet to reach their loved ones, slash, and sing their way to safety. They rapidly find that no one is secure in this new world, and as civilization crumbles around them, the only thing they can count on is each other.
Anna and her high school friends must fight, sing, and dance to stay alive when the zombie apocalypse threatens the peaceful community of Little Haven over Christmas. Anna must team up with her closest buddy John to fight her way across town, past zombified snowmen, Santas, elves, and Christmas shoppers, to the high school, where they will be safe. They quickly find that even when the world is about to end, staying alive for teenagers is much challenging.
What are We Talking About, Exactly?
A few tiny themes are running through the film about the significance of friends and family, appreciating the moment you’re in, and not giving up on mankind, even when individuals seem to be acting a little shady. However, this isn’t a film with a lot of symbolism or profound themes. It’s a film about slamming watermelons, bowling balls, and whatever else you can get your hands on into the heads of zombies.
What Makes it Interesting
The film Anna and the Apocalypse isn’t very memorable, but the film’s hilarious tagline, “Scottish Christmas zombie musical comedy,” sticks with you longer than anything else. Some of the individual characters’ plots lag or squib, and, as with so many zombie films, the endeavor to make each kill messier and more frightening than the previous becomes tiresome after a while.
However, seeing it is a joyous occasion. McPhail and co-writers Ryan McHenry and Alan McDonald forego the traditional anti-zombie weapons (guns, axes, chainsaws) and instead make their zombies ridiculously frail, allowing the humans to slay them with anything at hand, including a seesaw and a spatula.
The pop songs of Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly are crucial in driving the tale forward and expressing and enhancing the emotions. Glee meets Shaun of the Dead in this short, but it also harkens back to Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s musical episode, albeit with more polished pop.
What Should the Rating be?
This is a bloody film with eviscerations, beheadings, and mutilations galore. It’s also all quite silly and amusing. The MPAA would give it an R, but it could get away with a PG-13 with a warning to the faint of heart that this is a full-contact zombie movie.
How do I Go About Watching it?
Anna and the Apocalypse will be released in limited theatres in the United States on November 30, 2018. On December 7, it will be released to a wider audience. Dates and cinemas may be found on the film’s official website.
