Ella Hunt as Anna decapitates zombies with a candy cane. Courtesy Front Row Filmed Entertainment
Ella Hunt as Anna decapitates zombies with a candy cane. Courtesy Front Row Filmed Entertainment
Ella Hunt as Anna decapitates zombies with a candy cane. Courtesy Front Row Filmed Entertainment
Ella Hunt as Anna decapitates zombies with a candy cane. Courtesy Front Row Filmed Entertainment

Review: 'Anna and the Apocalypse' brings plenty of Christmas fear


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Anna and the Apocalypse

Director: John McPhail

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton

Three stars

Back in 2010, director Ryan McHenry received a Bafta nomination for his comedy short Zombie Musical. The director was inspired by seeing a trailer for High School Musical and surmising that the only way he would enjoy the film would be "if the whole cast was eaten by zombies". An idea was born, and the film was picked up for McHenry to turn into a feature.

In the meantime, McHenry also became an internet sensation with his bizarre, 2013, Vine series Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal. Things were looking good.

By 2015, McHenry had a script, and was well under way on development of the movie. Then, he died from cancer aged just 27.

McHenry’s long-term friend and producer, Naysun Alae-Carew, vowed not to let the project die with him, and eventually up-and-coming Scottish director, John McPhail, was attached to the film. This weekend, McHenry finally gets the tribute he deserves: A Christmas zombie musical.

True to its creator's vision, the film comes across very much as what would happen if the entire cast of High School Musical were eaten by zombies. Anna (Ella Hunt) and her school friends engage in big ensemble song and dance numbers, and they are interspersed with flesh chomping. When the evil, child-hating headmaster (Paul Kaye) gives these kids, and their parents, a unique form of detention locked in a room full of the brain-eating undead, you know The Breakfast Club had it easy.

Zombies and comedy have been interlinked ever since Sam Raimi unleashed The Evil Dead on the world back in 1981. This film certainly isn't up to those hallowed standards, though it's similarly low-budget fare, or even the standards of the best of the more recent releases such as Edgar Wright's 2004 Shaun of the Dead or Alejandro Brugues's 2010 Cuban tribute, Juan of the Dead, but it's still enjoyably daft festive fare.

While the film, by rights, should be outright ridiculous, sometimes the big dance scenes are just played with a bit too much of a straight face, the emotive character relationships dwelled on for a little too long.

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I’d normally be the last to call out “unnecessary character development”, but come on, this is a Christmas zombie musical – one of you is decapitating hordes of the undead with a candy cane, and the rest of you are probably going to get eaten alive anyway – let’s leave the complex backstories and parent issues for another film.

Perhaps the director played it a little too close to the script out of respect, and perhaps McHenry himself had a slightly different idea of how it would actually carry onto the screen. We’ll never know, but sometimes the overly serious tone just seems a little out of step with the ludicrousness of the whole enterprise.

Nonetheless, with the festive competition in cinemas this weekend made up of The Christmas Elf and Little Miss Doolittle, I'll take the zombies, with a side order of zombies.

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

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The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 575bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh554,000

On sale: now

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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

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If you go

Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.

Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com

A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com

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Anna and the Apocalypse

Director: John McPhail

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton

Three stars