Anna and the Apocalypse is an all-rounder of a film that tries to dip its hand into every genre of film possible. This is a British Christmas-Comedy-Zombie-Apocalypse-Coming-of-Age-Musical. And despite a bloated mix of potential film styles, this film is a wacky and exuberant viewing. Taking advantage of the current situation where people are so sick of the same old Christmas films every year that they have been dragging Die Hard into the genre due to it occurring over Christmas, Anna and the Apocalypse is trying to expand on that limited niche of fun Christmas films for more mature audiences.
Best described as Shaun of the Dead meets High School Musical and Glee, the film has so many professional musical numbers, sometimes with only a ten-second change of scenery separating them. The songs are full of energy, with some legit choreography that looks straight out of a Disney musical, and yet the actual lyrical content is downright satirical, mocking the overused tropes that the film itself is employing.
While preppy and catchy, some songs do get a bit repetitive and linger for a little too long, which can get a little tiresome from time-to-time (luckily the visual aspect of the song-and-dance can keep you entertained even if the song itself has become tedious). The audio quality is surprisingly clean, but for my tastes, it comes across over-produced. The vocals are so clear and distinctive, that it doesn't actually feel a part of the film; while the dubbing matched mouth movements perfectly, there it still feels disconnected enough that as the viewer it bring the authenticity of the vocal performance into question. If the actors and actresses did sing these songs themselves, they were amazing, but the disconnect makes it feel like they pulled in other singers to dub over their performance.
A nod to Shaun of the Dead, the film makes use of the obliviousness of the characters to the zombie situation to great comedic effect, and the whole first half of the film has great pacing, with a wealth of visual gags that show great attention to detail without forcing the audience to focus on each one. The level of detail in background sets is exemplary.
The film does falter slightly in the second half of the film, trying to really tie a villain into the film. While his over-the-top demeanour works well with the often campy tone of the film, his whole arc is largely unnecessary and could have been substituted with a number of other things.
But you can't let that hold the film back. It's hard to really go into a British Christmas-Comedy-Zombie-Apocalypse-Coming-of-Age-Musical and expect it to be great, but it definitely exceeds expectations. With some great balancing of tone, the film moves from slapstick physical humour to dark emotional drama with ease using some brilliant utilised sense of innocence and naivety.
Anna and the Apocalypse has a very basic story but puts on a great performance from the main protagonists with an energy level that keeps you engaged. Ella Hunt's role as the lead protagonist has likely created a new Christmas favourite.