Anna and the Apocalypse

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Movie
German title Anna and the Apocalypse
Original title Anna and the Apocalypse
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2017
length 92 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director John McPhail
script Alan McDonald,
Ryan McHenry
production Naysun Alae-Carew,
Nicholas Crum,
Tracy Jarvis
music Roddy Hart,
Tommy Reilly
camera Sara Deane
cut Mark Hermida
occupation

Anna und die Apocalypse (German subtitles: Ein Zombie Highschool Musical , original title: Anna and the Apocalypse ) is a British horror comedy with singing and dancing from 2017. Director is the Scot John McPhail .

action

Half-orphan Anna goes to Little Haven High School in the Scottish town of Little Haven. Her clique consists of her best friend John and the couple Chris and Lisa. Anna's father, Tony, is the caretaker at the school run by the tyrannical principal Savage. The loner Steph and the conceited macho Nick, with whom Anna was previously briefed, also go to school. It's Christmas time and there is a song and dance performance by the students for the parents. Anna cannot attend the performance because she has to work - she saves for a year of vacation after school.

On December 23, the day of the performance, a mass infection rampant worldwide turns out to be a virus that turns people into zombies and is transmitted through bites. The zombies hunt people and depopulate the small town in no time at all. Some people escape to school while a quartet of Anna, John, Chris and Steph find refuge in the bowling alley where Anna works. The bowling alley is attacked by zombies, but those trapped can successfully defend themselves. Their hopes that rescue will come from the nearby military base are disappointed - the military have also mutated into zombies. The quartet decides to make their way to school, as Anna's father Tony, John's grandmother and Chris' friend Lisa are believed to be there. On the way to school, the four of them find help from the macho Nick and his friends, who can eliminate numerous zombies. A shortcut through a sales hall for Christmas trees turns out to be a trap in which the group is clearly decimated by zombies: In addition to Nick's friends, John also falls victim to the virus.

Nick distracts a group of zombies to allow the others to escape. The rest of the group (Anna, Chris and Steph) arrive at school where they meet Lisa. Chris' grandma died of a heart attack, Anna's father is believed to be still alive. However, school principal Savage has gone mad, has let the zombies in the school and now wants to hand over the three students to them. When trying to get the keys to Steph's car, Chris and Lisa are bitten. Anna goes in search of her father and finds him in the school auditorium, where Savage has tied him up on stage and wants to hand him over to the zombies. Anna can defeat Savage in battle and free her father, but he too was bitten and persuaded his daughter to leave him to his fate. With the help of Nick, who unexpectedly reappears, Anna and Steph can escape from the school grounds and head towards an uncertain future.

History of origin and publication

Anna and the Apocalypse is based on the 2011 short film Zombie Musical by Scottish director Ryan McHenry. McHenry died of bone cancer in 2015 ; Anna and the Apocalypse is dedicated to him and co-writes the screenplay. Director McPhail had previously only had the romantic comedy Where Do We Go From Here? was shot, but it was because of this film that producers Naysun Alae-Carew and Nicholas Crum chose to direct it. McPhail describes himself as a great horror fan. In Anna and the Apocalypse he installed various allusions to his love horror films, such as The Happiness of the Katakuris (the first film to combine the genres “Zombie” and “Musical”) or Evil Dead . As part of the preparation for the film, he worked intensively on the filming of the musical West Side Story and studied various other musicals. Sarah Swire, who played Steph, was also responsible for the choreography of the film's dance scenes.

Anna and the Apocalypse premiered on September 22, 2017 at Fantastic Fest in Austin, USA . In 2017 it was screened at the Spanish Sitges Festival and in 2018 at the German Fantasy Film Festival . In 2018 the film was screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Korean Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival . A theatrical release in the United Kingdom and the United States was scheduled for November 2018.Template: future / in 5 years

The film exists in three cut versions: an US version that is four minutes shorter than the international version and a festival version that is around 108 minutes long.

reception

Anna and the Apocalypse received mostly positive reviews. The Rotten Tomatoes review database aggregates 112 reviews to a rating of 78%. Metacritic awards a rating of 64 out of 100 possible points on the basis of 27 reviews (18 positive and nine mixed).

The industry magazine Variety describes the basic idea of ​​the film as "wonderfully crazy and highly entertaining". The magazine criticized the fact that the film was a bit too long, but it had enough originality and energy compatible with the masses to be a Christmas hit. Reviewer Richard Kuipers compared the first few minutes of the film, in which the zombies did not yet play a role, with films by John Hughes . The US media portal The Verge headlined that Anna and the Apocalypse was “a cross between Glee and a George Romero film” and exactly what the genre name “Scottish Christmas Zombie Musical” associates. The magazine compared Swire's choreographies with those from the film High School Musical . Reviewer Tasha Robinson praised the portrayal of the actors who played their roles "with a lot of heart", but also judged that the film does not leave a lasting impression, as some of the storylines never end and the different methods of killing zombies, which are common in the genre, appear after a period of boredom let. Filmstarts.de described the film as an “idiosyncratic heart project with rough edges and a very special charm”, which even without zombies would make a passable, humorous youth film with credible characters . Reviewer Christoph Petersen pointed out that the characters in the film showed attitude and never degenerated into caricatures. The film portal Kino-Zeit.de saw a well-functioning “conglomerate of musical tragic comedy about growing up and rabid end-of-life film” that lacks self-reflection and depth.

The film was nominated for the prize in the “Best Independent Film Release” category at the 2019 Saturn Awards ceremony .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Variety.com: BiFan Film Review: 'Anna and the Apocalypse'. Retrieved September 24, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Syfy.com: Anna and the Apocalypse's Director shares the Secrets of the zombie stuffed Holiday Musical Comedy. Retrieved September 24, 2018 .
  3. ↑ ScreenAnarchy.com: Edinburgh 2018 Interview: Director John McPhail on Christmas Zombie Musical Anna and the Apocalypse. Retrieved September 24, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Slashfilm.com: The Cast and Crew of 'Anna and the Apocalypse' on Their Christmas Zombie Musical. Retrieved September 24, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Report on schnittberichte.com, accessed on March 30, 2020
  6. ↑ RottenTomatoes.com: Anna and the Apocalypse. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
  7. ^ Metacritic.com: Anna and the Apocalypse. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
  8. ↑ TheVerge.com: Anna and the Apocalypse is everything the words "Scottish Christmas zombie musical" imply. Retrieved September 24, 2018 .
  9. ^ Filmstarts.de: Anna and the Apocalypse. Retrieved September 24, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Kino-Zeit.de: Anna and the Apocalypse. Retrieved September 24, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Collider.com: 'Avengers: Endgame', 'Game of Thrones' Lead the 2019 Saturn Awards Nominations. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .