Anna and the Apocalypse

Anna and the Apocalypse

Starring Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux

Directed by John McPhail

The Story:
Senior Anna (Ella Hunt) is preparing for her future, including spending a year traveling the world to the dismay of her father Tony (Mark Benton).  She seemingly has a great life with her best friend John (Malcolm Cumming), and her other friends Chris (Christopher Leveaux) and Lisa (Marli Siu), and things couldn't be better.  Then one morning Anna wakes up, and discovers that the world has turned into chaos, with zombies being unleashed.  Together with her friends along with social outcast Steph (Sarah Swire), Anna plans to get to the school where her father is, and hopes that he's still alive.

The Synopsis:
There's two different subgenres that I thoroughly enjoy: musicals, and zombie films.  Never did I think I would find a film that would encompass both of those genres perfectly, and along came the independent low-budget film "Anna and the Apocalypse," and it more than succeeded in appeasing both of those genres for me.

Serving as a mixture of "High School Musical" and "Shaun of the Dead," "Anna and the Apocalypse" features a stellar young cast who must endure the horrors of a zombie apocalypse - all the while singing and dancing their way through it.  While watching the film I was reminded of one of my all-time favorite television shows - "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."  There was a particular episode where the entire cast sang and danced through it, and it was one of my favorite episodes.  Here, it's like that episode was elongated, giving me more joy and excitement as one catchy tune led to the next, and one amazingly choreographed set piece to another, all set in the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse.  Each of the songs were special in their own right, and incredibly catchy, and my favorites were "Break Away," "Hollywood Ending," and "Give Them a Show," but each song was equally memorable and fun to watch, despite the horror going on around them.

The script had some flaws to it (in particular having some of the survivors holed up in a bowling alley while knowing their loved ones were trapped in the school, but didn't seem there was a sense of urgency to get there), but overall the story was solid and it really gave the characters - the main and supporting - a whole lot to work with.  You felt for each character, you rooted for them, and you were truly saddened by some of their passing (it's not a spoiler, it's a zombie film - people die).

The humor in the film is reminiscent of the other awesome zombie comedy - "Shaun of the Dead."  Once the zombie apocalypse hits, we see our titular hero put in some headphones and make her way to school like it's any ordinary day, singing and dancing as the world literally falls apart all around her.  The kids decide to use an inflatable pool to try to disguise themselves through a zombie horde, and let's just say it provides some truly gut-busting moments (including a unique version of "bang, kill, marry").  The film has no shortage of hilarious moments, mixed in with the horror and truly devastating moments as well, and all are done to peak perfection.

The cast excels at their performances, both speaking and singing.  Ella Hunt (a dead ringer for a younger Anne Hathaway) truly proves her worth as Anna, the girl who holds the film together and provides a character that's equally strong willed and vulnerable, hopeful and fearful all at the same time.  Malcolm Cumming plays her best friend who secretly pines for more, and Sarah Swire (who also choreographed many of the dance numbers) rocks as the lesbian Steph, and Christopher Levaux and Marli Siu play off each other beautifully as couple Chris and Lisa.  Then there's Ben Wiggins, who plays the arrogant Nick, and Paul Kaye who plays the tyrannical school Headmaster Arthur.  Each actor gives it their all, and you can tell they really enjoyed what they were doing - and so were we.

The Summary:
Finding a way to mix humor, music, heart, and chills, "Anna and the Apocalypse" is the zombie musical we never knew we needed, providing a light-hearted romp through the zombie apocalypse like you never imagined.

The Score: A