Welcome one and all to the 15th part of my blog feature, The 52 In 52. The premise is simple, I have a collection of DVDs and Blu Rays and a lot of them have sat on the shelf gathering dust. This year I will watch one film I have never seen a week and review it. Last week I watched My Friend Dahmer, an entertaining and terrifying glimpse into the early years of serial killer, Jefferey Dahmer.
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This week I will be talking about Anna And The Apocalypse. The film follows Anna and her class mates as they go about their lives and head towards Christmas and the annual school show, the only problem is that a zombie outbreak is in full swing and threatening life itself. Anna And The Apocalypse was co written by Ryan McHenry and Alan Macdonald and directed by John McPhail. The music was written by Tommy Reilly and and Roddy Hart.
Anna And The Apocalypse was highly entertaining from the opening number. I remember seeing the trailer for the film and instantly falling in love with the idea of High School Musical with zombies. The story itself is a lot more than a horror tinged zombie outbreak. There is a lot of heart and emotion especially between Anna and her father and Anna and John, her best friend. There are moments especially towards the end of the second act that the story becomes a little too bleak and even in the final scenes there is a lack of a feel good moment.
The musical numbers are really entertaining throughout. Whilst the vocal performances aren't polished or perfect there is not a bad performance by any of the cast. There is a real joy that breaks through a lot of the cynicism and bleak story telling as the musical numbers kick in and that is thanks to the strength of the songwriting by Reilly and Hart.
The performances throughout Anna And The Apocalypse are really strong. Ella Hunt is outstanding as Anna with a great mix of strength and vulnerability, proving to be future leading lady material. Sarah Swire and Malcolm Cumming are both outstanding in support roles. Paul Kaye is scene chewingly over the top as the headmaster Savage.
Overall Anna And The Apocalypse is an entertaining film with a lot of catchy musical numbers. There is a darkness and bleakness to the story that sets itself apart from other films with a similar story. Ella Hunt is the stand out in the strong cast.
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