Anna and the Apocalypse
Anna and the Apocalypse is a 2017 British Christmas zombie musical film[7][8] directed by John McPhail from a screenplay by Alan McDonald and Ryan McHenry based on McHenry's 2010 BAFTA-nominated short Zombie Musical. It stars an ensemble cast of largely unknown young talent, including Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Marli Siu, Ben Wiggins, Mark Benton, and Paul Kaye.
| Anna and the Apocalypse | |
|---|---|
 UK theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John McPhail |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Zombie Musical by Ryan McHenry |
| Starring |
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| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Sara Deane |
| Edited by | Mark Hermida |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Vertigo Releasing[2] |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes[4] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $670,430[5][6] |
The film premiered at Fantastic Fest on 22 September 2017.[9][10] It was released in the United Kingdom by Vertigo Releasing and United States by Orion Pictures on 30 November 2018[11] to generally positive reviews from critics, commending the performances, musical numbers and characterisation.
Plot
In Little Haven, Scotland, Anna Shepherd is about to finish school and plans to travel for a year before attending university, much to the displeasure of her widower father Tony. Her friends are dealing with their own issues: her best friend and artist John is secretly in love with her, budding filmmaker Chris is struggling with a class assignment, and transfer student Steph is trying to get her social justice reporting past the tyrannical vice principal Mr. Savage. Nick, Anna's one night stand, is also making her life difficult. The night of the school Christmas show, in which Chris's girlfriend Lisa is performing, Anna and John are working in the local bowling alley and Chris and Steph have gone to the homeless shelter to film for Steph's story. During this time, a zombie infection starts spreading and Lisa, Tony, Savage and Chris's grandmother are stranded in the school. Anna and John bond over her post-graduation plans after work.
The next morning, Anna and John leave for the school, completely oblivious to the zombie chaos around them. When they encounter a zombie dressed as a snowman, Anna decapitates him with a seesaw. Figuring it will be too dangerous to go home or to the school, they go to the bowling alley where they meet Steph and Chris, who have taken shelter there. Steph finds out that an army evacuation is coming to the school, so the group plans to go there once it is safe. Anna and Steph find the zombified cleaner and Steph kills her, alerting a group of zombified bowlers to break in. The group kills them all after a bloody fight and realise that getting to their loved ones will be difficult.
The next morning Anna, Steph, John, and Chris wake up to find that the army has been zombified and no evacuation is coming. Regardless, they set off to the school to see if their loved ones are still alive. Nick - who is greatly enjoying the carnage - and his friends rescue the group from a horde of zombies and join them on their way to the school. Anna tells John that she still plans to go travelling despite everything that has happened. At the school, Savage fights to maintain authority as the others plan their own evacuation.
The students cut through a Christmas tree emporium in an attempt to save time but are ambushed by zombies, which kill Nick's friends. Once they escape, John is bitten; he gets Anna to safety but sacrifices himself to distract the zombies. The survivors reach the school, where Savage has let the zombies in as a last-ditch measure of control. Anna and Nick split off to search for Tony while Steph and Chris look for his family and Steph's car keys. Nick reveals that his father asked Nick to kill him after he was bit, before distracting a group of zombies so that Anna can find her father. Chris finds Lisa but his grandmother had already died of a heart attack. Steph, Chris, and Lisa find the car keys in Savage's office but Chris and Lisa are bitten while trying to escape, having used Chris's video footage as a distraction.
Anna finds Savage in the auditorium, where he is using Tony as bait for the zombies. Anna gets to the stage and saves Tony, but he lashes out at Savage and they fight. Savage falls to the zombies but Tony is bitten in the scuffle. Anna says goodbye to her dad as Nick arrives, and the two of them leave the school. They prepare for one last stand before Steph rescues them in her car and Anna finally leaves Little Haven to look for a safe place.
Cast
- Ella Hunt as Anna Shepherd
- Malcolm Cumming as John
- Sarah Swire as Steph North
- Christopher Leveaux as Chris
- Ben Wiggins as Nick
- Marli Siu as Lisa
- Mark Benton as Tony Shepherd
- Paul Kaye as Arthur Savage
- Calum Cormack as Santa Claus
- Euan Bennet as Jake
- Sean Connor as Graham
- John Winchester as Tibbsy
- Janet Lawson as Mrs. Hinzmann
- Kirsty Strain as Ms. Wright
- Jackie Bird as herself
Production
Director John McPhail said that Anna and the Apocalypse was influenced by the films West Side Story (1961), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Breakfast Club (1985), as well as the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode "Once More, with Feeling".[12] McPhail also said that the film includes "nods" to the zombie films Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), The Evil Dead (1981), The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) and Shaun of the Dead (2004).[12][13] The crop tops and short shorts seen in the film were inspired by the costume design in the slasher film Sleepaway Camp (1983).[13]
The film was dedicated to Ryan McHenry, who died two years before the film's release.
Release
Anna and the Apocalypse had its world premiere in the Fantastic Fest on 22 September 2017.[14] On 5 October 2017, the film held its European premiere at Sitges Film Festival in Catalonia, Spain.[15]
On 10 January 2018, it was picked up for North and Latin American theatrical distribution by Orion Pictures.[16] In the United States, the film received a limited theatrical release on 30 November 2018, with a nationwide expansion on 7 December.[11]
Home media
The US theatrical release (93 minutes) was only given a digital release on 12 February 2019. It was made available on Hulu on 13 November 2019.
The film was released on region 2 DVD on 8 April 2019, by Vertigo Releasing through Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment. It was released in a region-free two-disc Blu-ray on 2 December 2019, by Second Sight Films. Both the UK theatrical release (97 minutes) and the director's cut (108 minutes) are included in the set, the latter containing roughly ten minutes of footage absent from the theatrical version.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack consisting of 13 songs from the film was released on 23 November 2018.
The deleted song, "Which Side Are You On?", is featured only on the vinyl release and director's cut. Another deleted song, "Some Things Will Never Change", is present in the bonus features of the Blu-ray release.
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Christmas Means Nothing Without You" | Shonagh Murray | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Break Away" | Ella Hunt, Sarah Swire and Malcolm Cumming | 3:59 |
| 3. | "Hollywood Ending" | Cast from Anna and the Apocalypse | 3:32 |
| 4. | "The Fish Wrap" | Roddy Hart, Tommy Reilly and John McPhail | 0:39 |
| 5. | "It's That Time of Year" | Marli Siu | 2:48 |
| 6. | "Turning My Life Around" | Ella Hunt and Malcolm Cumming | 3:50 |
| 7. | "Human Voice" | Cast from Anna and the Apocalypse | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Soldier at War" | Ben Wiggins | 3:10 |
| 9. | "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" | Paul Kaye | 2:48 |
| 10. | "Give Them a Show" | Ella Hunt and Paul Kaye | 2:54 |
| 11. | "I Will Believe" | Ella Hunt and Mark Benton | 3:43 |
| 12. | "What a Time to Be Alive" | Ryan Joseph Burns | 2:09 |
| 13. | "What a Time to Be Alive (Orchestral Version)" | Cast from Anna and the Apocalypse | 1:59 |
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada the film debuted to $52,588 from five cinemas, an average of $10,518.[17]
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Anna and the Apocalypse finds fresh brains and a lot of heart in the crowded zombie genre—not to mention a fun genre mashup populated by rootable characters."[18] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[19]
Dread Central gave it 5 out of 5 stars, saying that it's "not just a great movie but a great musical as well."[20]
Accolades
| Year | Awards | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards | Best Independent Film | John McPhail | Nominated |
| 2018 | Edinburgh International Film Festival | Audience Award | John McPhail | Nominated |
| British Academy Scotland Awards | Best Actress: Film | Ella Hunt | Nominated | |
| Best Feature Film | Naysun Alae-Carew, Nicholas Crum, Tracy Jarvis John McPhail, Alan McDonald | Nominated | ||
References
- Plaugic, Lizzie (8 August 2017). "Fantastic Fest 2017 will feature two Stephen King adaptations and a zombie musical 'Anna and the Apocalypse'". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- Grater, Tom (18 February 2018). "Zombie musical 'Anna And The Apocalypse' sells to UK (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ""Anna and the Apocalypse" is Released in Cinemas on 30th November 2018". Filmoria.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE | British Board of Film Classification". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- "Anna and the Apocalypse (2018) - Financial Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- "Anna and the Apocalypse (2018) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- Miska, Brad (8 August 2017). "'Anna and the Apocalypse' Images Bring the Holiday Cheer". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- Dee, Jake. "Zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse begins shooting". JoBlo.com. Joblo Media. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- Miska, Brad (16 January 2017). "They're Finally Making a Zombie Musical, 'Anna and the Apocalypse'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- Scott, Ryan (16 January 2017). "Zombie Musical Anna and the Apocalypse Begins Shooting in Scotland". MovieWeb. Watchr Media. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (6 April 2018). "Zombie Christmas Musical 'Anna And The Apocalypse' To Ring In December". Deadline. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- Fletcher, Rosie (30 June 2019). "Anna And The Apocalypse interview: the director on his zombie musical". Den of Geek. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- Gingold, Michael (7 December 2018). "Exclusive Interview: Director John McPhail and actor Christopher Leveaux on "Anna and the Apocalypse"". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- Waldo, Barry (9 August 2017). "Zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse to get World Premiere at Fantastic Fest". Creative Scotland. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- Billington, Alex (12 October 2017). "Sitges Review: Zombie Christmas Musical 'Anna and the Apocalypse'". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- Galuppo, Mia (9 January 2018). "Orion Pictures Nabs Zombie Holiday Musical 'Anna and the Apocalypse'". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (2 December 2018). "'Ralph' Breaking $25M+ 2nd Weekend; 'Grinch' Steals $202M+; 'Hannah Grace' $6M+ In Slow Post Thanksgiving Period – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- "Anna and the Apocalypse (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- "Anna and the Apocalypse Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- McHargue, Brad (23 September 2017). "Anna and the Apocalypse (Fantastic Fest): Singing! Dancing! Zombies! Christmas!". Dread Central. Dread Central Media. Retrieved 26 September 2017.