Jeri Jacquin
Currently on DVD from director John McPhail and Cinedigm comes a biting end to the beginning of the holidays as we know it with ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE.
In the town of Little Haven, Anna (Ella Hunt) is a young girl with big dreams out of high school. Unable to talk about it with Dad (Mark Benton), her big plans include traveling with a ticket hidden from view. The only other person who knows is best friend John (Malcom Cummings) who supports her but has a secret of his own.
Singing their way through teen angst, they are more involved in their mundane teenage-hood lives of unrequited love and parental misunderstandings to notice something different going on. That is until they see a snowman who seems a little friendlier than it should be but Anna takes care of it.
Walking through town they notice the destruction and everyone heads for the school. Anna and John meet up with Steph (Sarah Swire) and Chris (Christopher Leveaux) at the local bowling alley. The Headmaster (Paul Kaye) has a group locked down at school telling everyone it will be fine.
Trying to pass the time, Chris and John wonder who has been turned from the upsetting thought that Robert Downey, Jr. and Taylor Swift might be among the undead! Anna and Sarah are just trying to keep the bowling dead off of them.
Even in the midst of destruction and no internet access (selfie withdrawn imminent), the group still has the one thing the shuffling dead can't take from them - breaking out into lamenting song!
Hunt as Anna first of all has an amazing singing voice but even more than that she has a presence that I just love. Portraying Anna as a strong young woman who questions everything but still knows that she wants to experience more than the town of Little Haven, Hunt nails it.
Cumming as John as the look of a young man in love and not knowing the rules of how to make that known. Joining in with Anna, he tries to put his mind in a different place because zombies aren't exactly in his life lane. I love his portrayal of John because in the midst of chaos there is a little bit of a sweet naivetés.
Swire as Steph is dealing with her own issues feeling as if her parents dumped her in this little town and no one understands her. This actress also has an amazing voice as well and her snide comments and standoffish attitude is one that servers her will during this unusual holiday film.
Leveaux as Chris is the zombie resident expert on how to avoid getting bit and seems to be enjoying it all a little too much. Another great surprise here is Ben Wiggins as Nick, notably the school jock, he certainly knows how to swing a bat and is having a good time with his boys fighting the zombie war and singing about it too.
Other cast include: Marli Siu as Lisa, Sean Connor as Graham, John Winchester as Tibbsy, Euan Bennet as Jake, Ella Jarvis as Katie, Janet Lawson as Mrs. Hinzmann, Ruth McGhie as Bea, Kirsty Strain as Ms. Wright, Therese Bradley as Julie, Jake Richardson as Chas and Paul Kaye as Arthur Savage.
CINEDIGM has strategic relationships with over 60,000 physical retail storefronts and digital platforms with Wal-Mark, Target, iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon as well as national cable and satellite Video On Demand with an impressive distribution footprint that reaches ninety-three percent of all connected devices in the United States. The company's vast content library boasts over 52,000 feature films and television episodes. To learn more please visit www.cinedigm.com.
The DVD includes the Bonus Feature of ANNA & THE APOCALYPSE: Behind the Scenes.
ANNA & THE APOCALYPSE might just become a holiday classic in my home. We love all things zombie but this, THIS has everything else. From teen singing and dancing to surviving the holidays in a unique way, the film doesn't mind adding a little camp like sprinkles on holiday sugar cookies.
Trying to reach their families for holiday dinner is kind of like fighting traffic through L.A. on Christmas Eve - except they are on the menu! The film had me laughing, toe tapping, rooting for the teenagers (I know, I mean what???) and feeling like this is the Undead Breakfast Club meets High School Musical.
The film is also about friendships, truth, the craziness of being a teen, family, loss and discovering that each of them isn't so different than the other. One thing we can all be sure is that a zombie apocalypse can certainly bring out the good and bad in them all.
One thing is for certain, they are all in this together and they don't care about the naughty or nice part of the holidays.
In the end - zombies are coming to town!
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