Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Writer: Alan McDonald, Ryan McHenry
Cast: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Marli Siu, Ben Wiggins, Mark Benton, Paul Kaye, Sean Connor, John Winchester, Euan Bennet, Ella Jarvis
Seen on: 27.12.2020
[Here’s my first review.]

Plot:
Usually nothing much happens in Little Haven. But this Christmas, zombies have found their way into town. As the town becomes quickly chaotic, Anna (Ella Hunt), her best friend John (Malcolm Cumming) and a few other high schoolers have to get across town to their high school where they hope to find safety.

After recently talking about Anna and the Apocalypse again and it just being Christmas, I thought it would be the perfect time to re-watch the film and I have to say that this was one of the best decisions. The film remains a delight.

When I saw it the first time, it was in a crowded cinema (sigh, you remember crowds?) that was entirely into the film. There was even a technical glitch that added to the overall hilarity. There was a risk that Anna and the Apocalypse would fall short of my memories of that screening when I watched it home alone. Fortunately, I really needn’t have worried.

The music is still fantastic. Not only is it instantly earwormy, it also finds the perfect balance between being just plain funny and also emotionally true to the very hard situations the characters find themselves in. That is generally a thing the film balances so perfectly, it should be studied in film school for it.

So, despite watching it at home and knowing it already, the film had me both laughing and crying, sometimes even at the same time. Knowing what would be coming didn’t make things easier, almost to the contrary. And the ending was rather sadder than I remembered (and I already didn’t remember it as a barrel of fun).

In any case, maybe I should make this a new tradition and watch this film every year at Christmas. It would certainly deserve it.

Summarizing: The film is like my favorite dish.