Anna and the Apocalypse

Starring: Ella Hunt, Christopher Leveaux, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Marli Siu, Paul Kaye, Mark Benton

Director: John McPhail

As graduation looms, high schooler Anna (Ella Hunt) wants to skip University so she can see the world, much to the chagrin of her dad (Mark Benton). This would mean leaving behind her best friend John (Malcolm Cumming) who not so secretly is in love with her as well as friends Chris (Christopher Leveaux), Lisa (Marli Siu), and Steph (Sarah Swire). Soon, she has more to worry about as a viral outbreak begins to turn people into zombies. Separated from their families, Anna and her friends must fight and sing their way across town to save their loved ones.

You read that right, sing. While Shaun of the Dead stood the zombie genre on its head by being a comedy, this ups the ante even more by making a zombie musical comedy. And it’s a pretty good one too, as the numbers are catchy, fun, and unique. The film also features a hilarious and dirty Christmas talent show number that might have surpassed the one featured in Mean Girls.

While the budget on the film was presumably small, the film scores a lot of points for using mostly practical zombie effects.

The performances are surprisingly genuine, with Ella Hunt making a huge splash. My hope is that Ella Hunt can follow in Florence Pugh (from last year’s Lady Macbeth)’s footsteps and have this set her career on fire, because she was fantastic in the role. Also making an impression was Malcolm Cumming, who was incredibly sympathetic as friend-zoned best friend John. You feel the pain in his eyes every time he tries to be with her and gets shut down, especially for the bully/bad boy that Anna is inexplicably attracted to.

If there was one aspect I didn’t particularly care for, it was the human villain, Headmaster Savage played by Paul Kaye. He tended to overact in ways that would make Sharlto Copely blush. For all the good work the younger actors do, Kaye’s performance stand out even more.

Fueled by a star making turn from Ella Hunt, Anna and the Apocalypse is a winning and original comedy/musical. Check it out if you can.

B+