Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) Review – Moderate swing, no hit

I need to preface something – I love these kind of movies. Shaun of the Dead is probably in my TOP 20 movies of all time, I even like when cheesy horror meets cheesy musical (I really need to re-watch and write a review for Repo! The Genetic Opera to see whether I still love it the same way I have a decade or so ago), so I was quite excited for this movie. And from a few people I trust on the internet I’ve heard it a pleasant movie, that’s worth watching.

Maybe that’s why I feel slightly disappointed with what I’ve seen. Anna and the Apocalypse is not a BAD movie, that’s not what I am trying to say. It flows well, the main protagonists are likable, I liked that they’ve taken some bolder choices regarding who survives and who dies and when, so far we are good.

My two big issues with this film are these:

1. The music is like something from the High School Musical movies. I’m really sorry to the creators, if that was the intention, but it didn’t work at all. I think it was supposed to add the “cheesy” factor to this movie, but I feel like it’d have worked better if only one or two songs were like that and after we would’ve gotten some kick ass songs. Opera/rock/metal literally any other style than what we’ve gotten for the entirety of this movie, because eventually they all blend together where there wasn’t any standout song. And I was patiently waiting for that ONE scene/song that would stand out above them all, something that would’ve embrace this genre more, something I might be inclined to re-listen after the movie was over, and nothing.
2. This movie wants to have a “heart” so much and I honestly wanted to love it even more, but it falls flat. There was something about it, where for a comedy it wasn’t funny enough, for a horror it wasn’t scary enough, and for a musical it wasn’t good enough. If only the director had managed to blend at least 2 out of those 3 factors successfully, it’d have been a better film with some heart, but it falls flat so many times where it’s supposed to shine (some deaths we were supposed to care about more didn’t hit me as much as they should have).

I feel like by a complete (and I guess unwanted) accident, this film only highlights how brilliant of a director Edgar Wright truly is for making Shaun of the Dead and blending the horror genre with comedy so flawlessly. That movie has no (W)right (see what I did there? Ok, I see myself out now…) to be as brilliant as it is.

I’m really hoping I get to see more of Ella Hunt in the future, as she’s tried her best to make Anna and the Apocalypse work. If it wasn’t for her, my rating would have been lower.

Is Anna and the Apocalypse worth seeing? Let me put it this way – if you have a chance, see Shaun of the Dead first. If you don’t have the means to see it, and your only other choice is this movie, I’d go for it, don’t expect much, maybe you’ll be surprised. I wanted to be, believe me.

That’s all for this movie? Did you see it? If so, what did you think? Am I too harsh, or were you underwhelmed too? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke