Get ready for the Christmas zombie musical you didn’t know you needed in your life,Anna and the Apocalypsefinally has a distributor! The unlikely genre hybrid from directorJohn McPhaildebuted at Fantastic Fest last year, earning critical buzz and becoming one of the persistent audience favorites throughout the fest. That’s because it’s delightful, not to mention surprising and unique. Since then,Anna and the Apocalypsehas played at Sitges Film Festival, but distributors failed to pick up the crowd-pleaser out of either fest.
Enter the recently relaunched Orion Pictures, who has acquired the North American and Latin American rights to the blood-soaked holiday musical just in time for a planned 2018 holiday season release. The exact date is still TBD.Anna and the Apocalypsemarks the first acquisition for Orion Pictures since returning to wide theatrical distribution last fall.
Anna and the Apocalypsefeatures a host of breakout roles, but especially from lead actressElla Hunt(Our Robot Overlords) who stars as the titular apocalyptic survivor, Anna. She’s a commanding, charismatic performer with a whole ton of star power.Mark Benton(The Halcyon),Paul Kaye(Game Of Thrones),Ben Wiggins,Sarah Swire,Christopher LeveauxandMarli Siualso star.
Based on McPhail’s BAFTA-winning shortZombie Musical, the film is writeen by Alan McDonald and the late Ryan McHenry, who earned viral fame from his “Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal” videos. It also features original music by Roddy HartandTommy Reillyand I assure you, youwillhave their songs stuck in your heads for weeks. This is a film primed to become a midnight movie cult classic – people are going to want to sing these songs loud and proud. You cancheck out my full review here.
Here’s the official synopsis forAnna and the Apocalypse.
“InAnna and the Apocalypse,a zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas – forcing Anna and her high school friends to fight, sing and slash their way to survival with a fast-spreading undead horde in relentless pursuit. Teaming up with her best friend John, Anna and her crew fight their way through zombified snowmen, a ravenous bachelor party and high school hormones to try and save family and faculty alike. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and the only people they can truly rely on are each other.”
