Featured DVD Review: Anna and the Apocalypse

October 26, 2019

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Anna and the Apocalypse hit theaters last year as a limited release and opened well, especially for its genre. Horror films rarely do well in limited release. However, it collapsed as soon as it tried to expand. Is it just too niche of a film? Or did poor word-of mouth hurt its box office chances?

The Movie

We are first introduced to Anna as she is being driven to school by her dad, Tony, who is also the janitor at the high school. Also in the car is John, her best friend, who has a major crush on her, but can’t work up the courage to do anything about it. Tony keeps telling Anna she has to be at the Christmas pageant tonight, but Anna has to work. When pressed why she’s working so hard, John accidentally lets slip that Anna is planning on traveling next year instead of going to college right away. Her dad is understandably upset and the two fight just before school starts.

Once at school, we meet the rest of the main cast. There’s Lisa and Chris, best friends of Anna and John and who are madly in love with each other. Steph is a social activist who is butting heads with Mr. Savage, the vice principal, who is about to be in charge with the retirement of the current principal. We also meet Nick, the bully.

After school, Anna and John go to work at the bowling alley, while Chris films Steph’s charity work in an attempt to create more awareness. Meanwhile, Lisa is part of the big pageant, but she hopes Chris can make it back in time to film her number. He can’t. It’s not all bad. Anna and John have a great talk after work and that leaves both of them in a great mood, such a great mood that the next day, as they sing and dance their way out of their homes they don’t even notice the zombies that are attacking everyone.

Anna and John meet up and do eventually realize what’s going on. By that time, work is closer than home, so they head there. Steph and Chris had a similar idea. The place is safe, mostly, so they decide to stay there until the local army base can come and enact the evacuation plan. Plans change when they see a bunch of zombie soldiers. Now they realize they have to work together and go to the school to save the ones they love.

Review

Before I get into the review, I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of musicals. I find way too often the singing just interferes with the plot, dragging out the story and causing pacing issues. For the most part, this isn’t really a problem here. Granted, not all of the songs are memorable and some of them do just slow the plot down a little, but I was never really a major issue. The genre mash-up elements work, but the film is based on a short, and you can tell, as it doesn’t quite have enough to say to last as long as a feature-length film. As a result, the film gets weaker in the second half. One of my biggest complaints is also one of the biggest spoilers. Seriously, I’m about to spoil the ending of the film, so be warned. Everyone they went to rescue died in the end. Everyone. Now I understanding needing to kill off some important characters; after all, if audiences realize some characters have so-called plot armor, it hurts the stakes and lowers tension. That said, killing off all of the characters they went to rescue makes the whole adventure seem pointless.

I did still really like the movie and there are a number of strong positives. This includes Ella Hunt as Anna, who is arguably the film’s best asset. She even earned a nomination for Best Actress: Film at the British Academy Scotland Awards and I’m looking forward to seeing her in more things. Marli Siu doesn’t have as much screen time, but her performance at the school pageant is also a major highlight of the movie. A few of the films special effects really work and, despite the low budget, they are not held back by the lack of money.

The Extras

The only extra is a 26-minute long making-of / behind-the-scenes featurette. That’s not a lot, but it is better than a lot of limited releases get.

The Verdict

When it is working, Anna and the Apocalypse really works and the highs are much higher than the lows. I can see this becoming a cult classic over the next few years. Granted, it isn’t for everyone, but I think fans of the genre will get a kick out of it and want to watch it again and again. The DVD isn’t loaded with extras, but the one featurette it does have is meaty enough to be worth picking up.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Video Review, Paul Kaye, Mark Benton, Ben Wiggins, Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Marli Siu