This is a film that has been on my radar for a little while. It first came to my attention during December when I was reviewing a Christmas film a day, due to its Christmas time setting. I never got round to reviewing it back then, but with the lockdown occurring just a mere 3 months later I got my second chance. I knew nothing of this film going in other than Now TV's description: "High School Musical meets Shaun of the Dead". I really couldn't have described it better myself. The film follows Anna (Ella Hunt), a 6th form student who is saving to travel Australia before she goes to University. Her father,Tony (Mark Benton), is a janitor at the college Anna attends, and is against the idea of her travelling. After an argument they part ways, with Mark staying to help out at the colleges Christmas talent show and Anna going to her job at the bowling alley. When a sudden zombie apocalypse breaks out and splits the two apart Anna, accompanied by a group of her friends, take it upon themselves to get back to the school and rescue their friends and family trapped inside, singing all the way,
This is really a film of moments. It is a really fun concept and the basic idea of the film leads to several scenes and small moments that really, really work, The best scene of the film is a great example of the film using the musical and zombie genres together to create magic. This is a scene where Anna and her best friend, John (Malcolm Cumming), are walking to college and singing. It is a cheery song about how this new day will bring new hope and optimism and a chance to change their lives. To match the mood of the song there both dancing and have huge beams on their faces. Meanwhile, the zombie apocalypse is in full flow just behind them. The juxtaposition of the music with the action works brilliantly and it is in this moment where the fim really nails what it is going for. Unfortunately I didn't feel like it managed to keep this going throughout, and a lot of the comedy felt forced. There were a few good laughs in the film but there were also a lot of moments where I was almost face palming. The film also suffers from a a weak narrative. I think it would have been fine if the film had focused on Anna and her attempts to reach her dad, but it throws an a love triangle where the relationships between the three characters isn't well explained and eventually leads to nothing. Also, there are several moments in the film where Anna is said to be a show off or feels lie she can do anything, but we are never shown this in practice. We are just told this by characters. This is a problem the film struggles with a lor, telling and not showing. These problems would have been less noticeable if the film had knocked it out of the park with it comedy and genre blending, but instead it had me questioning why I cared about the characters. The songs, although well performed, are not particularly memorable which I feel is a pretty big problem in a musical.
The acting in the film is solid across the board. The film chose to use mostly unknown and young talent for its main cast and they all do a good job. There wasn't a performance that made me sit up and think 'wow' but they all played there parts well. Ella Hunt is good as Ella. She is able to portray a confidence and coolness, while also showing some real emotion when called upon. Malcolm Cummin is also good as John. He plays the nerdy aspects of his character really well. He is used much more as a comedy character and he does this well for the most part. Their is one performance I do want to mention and that is Paul Kaye as Arthur Savage, the headmaster of the Sixth Form. This performance is cartoonish. Even in a film that is meant to be silly and over the top, this one jumps the shark. I don't want to criticise Kaye for the performance because it is clearly the fault of the script. It is not as though Kaye was given a standard character and decided to ham it up, everything this character says is what a super villain would say in a kids cartoon. It is a cliched character and doesn't fit in he film at all really. Again, I think Kaye did a good job laying a cartoon villain, I just don't think this film needed a cartoon villain.
'Anna and the Apocalypse' is a film with a great concept and brilliant ideas which just doesn't manage to make it all work. There are definitely some scenes where the films concept is fully realised and it is in these moments where I fully bought into the film. Unfortunately, the film doesn't deliver for the whole runtime and I found myself struggling to really care for a good chunk. The acting is all good and he music is fine, but the film struggles with a weak and spotty narrative and some moments of forced comedy which are more cringeworthy than funny. I's a hard one to recommend because as a whole film I don't think it particular works, but I am going to recommend just for the couple of scenes that really work. They are worth the runtime just one their own.