Musicals have been a staple in Hollywood for a long time. When done correctly, the combination of catchy original music and narrative function create a uniquely enjoyable experience. It isn’t easy to catch lightning in a bottle and, if you’re not careful, you may end up with a shallow and uninspired mistake like Mama Mia! Here We Go Again. There wasn’t a ton of competition in this genre (I don’t count Bohemian Rhapsody or A Star is Born as “musicals” despite the obvious influence music has on those stories) but Anna and the Apocalypse is the most original and most enjoyable musical of the year.
Many of the social aspects of traditional high school movies were still apparent: the nerds being bullied by the jocks, the plutonic best friend getting friend-zoned, and the girl at the center of it hating her life and just looking to get away…until the zombie apocalypse rolls around and the band of misfits have to rally to save the day. Despite having a fairly straightforward setup, it was still a pleasant surprise.
Alan McDonald and Ryan Henry wrote a good script based on Henry’s 2010 short film, Zombie Musical. The screenplay capitalized on a lot of familiar norms and mixed it with a good sense of humor…although there was a lot of laughter in the theater during moments devoid of humor. Some of those were merely designed for chuckles but received obnoxious laughter…but to each their own. Either way, it’s a positive that the screenplay was able to be both smart funny and stupid funny at the same time, appealing to a very broad audience of children and adults.
Director John McPhail had a very solid understanding of what wouldn’t and wouldn’t work well with this story. This was very clearly made with a small budget but the money was spent wisely. The musical numbers were very well executed and took advantage of localized choreography rather than large sweeping musical numbers that required a larger group of extras, larger filming locations, and a variety of wide angle shots. As with any live-action portrayal of zombies, makeup effects were going to play a significant role one way or another. It wasn’t on par with the kind of prosthetics and digital rendering you’d see on The Walking Dead but, for this type of movie, the make-up team and the effects department worked well together and crafted an appropriately light-hearted amount of gore.
Obviously, this entire thing wouldn’t go very far if there weren’t some good original songs. Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly composed the music and, nearest I can tell, they wrote the lyrics that were performed by the cast. Not every song on the soundtrack is a home run but the best are undeniably catchy and fun, “Hollywood Ending” is my favorite. Having spent some more time watching musical theater lately, success is measured by the harmony between a strong musical number and effective storytelling. This soundtrack certainly has that going for it.
In order to successfully present the music, you need a good cast. Not to be rude, but the vast majority of the cast is very much unknown. With that in mind, there were a number of strong performances. Ella Hunt was good in the lead as Anna. She’s got kind of a young Drew Barrymore thing going on and a good understanding of humor. This wasn’t a rangy performance by any means, due in large part to the overall tone, but it showed that she has leading potential. Beyond her portrayal of Anna, there were a number of other good performances from the primary cast.
Malcolm Cumming played John, the aforementioned mayor of the friend-zone. He’s really just starting to get his feet wet acting but he brought a genuine exuberance and youthful energy to the role. Cumming may be relegated to supporting roles for a while but he showed a lot of promise and a good sense of humor. Paul Kaye was the only recognizable actor and that’s from a small but recurring role on Game of Thrones. He played Savage, a teacher on a power trip who can’t wait to discipline each and every student the way he sees fit. It’s a neurotic and eccentric portrayal but it made for a wonderfully loathsome villain. The two roles cover completely different ends of the spectrum and having strong performances in those two roles allowed all the rest of the characters to fall in to place much more naturally. Sarah Swire and Ben Wiggins both chipped in with good supporting performances to round out the primary group.
Overall it was very enjoyable, even if it wasn’t great. If you were to go in blind, you may get much more than you bargained for, but as far as Zombie Apocalypse Christmas musicals go…this really hit the nail on the head. It has a Shawn of the Dead feel to it, just add a dash of Xmas cheer and some musical theater and there ya go. Happy Hunting!
Recommendation: If you’re in the mood for an A-typical Christmas movie then this is just what the doctor ordered. Thematically, it’s still about family, friendship, and coming together during the holidays so that element of the formula is intact. Even as an R-rated film, it’s still mostly family-friendly despite the gore and profanity…so don’t be afraid to take the kids, just be prepared.