Anna and the Apocalypse
Odeon | Release Date: November 30, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshNov 28, 2018
In the Christmas zombie teen musical Anna and the Apocalypse, a whole lot of genre is stuffed into one neat little package, and happily, giddily, it is perfectly executed, landing like a triumphant triple axel splattered in gore, and wrapped in tinsel. Read full review
85
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeNov 29, 2018
If you’re willing to overlook a little scruffiness at the edges, it’s a Christmas miracle that the Scottish import “Anna and the Apocalypse” works so well as both a horror movie and a musical. Read full review
83
IndieWireAmy Nicholson
Like its star, Anna and the Apocalypse merrily charges through danger. It’s a genre mash-up populated with cliches...but McPhail finds small moments to make his characters unique. Read full review
81
IGNWilliam BibbianiJan 3, 2019
Anna and the Apocalypse is a delightful Christmas/horror/comedy/musical hybrid, with a great cast, entertaining gore and a storyline that’s easy to take seriously… even though it’s fundamentally absurd. Read full review
81
The VergeTasha Robinson
Watching it is a cheer-along experience. Read full review
80
VarietyRichard KuipersNov 28, 2018
“Anna” picks itself up, dusts itself off, and comes home with a finale that’s so satisfying and sincere, it’ll make some viewers misty-eyed. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoSep 7, 2018
Anna And The Apocalypse is an enthusiastic coming-of-age musical that cares just as much about bellowed heart and soul as it does keeping horror fans entertained. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 28, 2018
The signature refrain of "Hollywood Ending," with its high-kicking energy and table-punching emotion, is just irresistible. It's the sweet that balances out the bitter of a film that makes it clear that this won't all end well. Anna and the Apocalypse is like biting into a candy cane and getting jabbed by those sharp, sugary shards. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerDec 7, 2018
Show tunes meet "Shaun of the Dead" in the delightfully gruesome Scottish horror-musical Anna and the Apocalypse. Read full review
75
Washington PostPat PaduaDec 5, 2018
While the young cast does its best to sell the gleeful music, its delirious premise eventually loses steam, as do the songs, which are stronger in the first part of the film. Yet despite this doomsday setting, Anna and the Apocalypse ultimately delivers an uplifting message. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloNov 30, 2018
It’s one of those rare horror movies to leave you with good holiday cheer. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckNov 28, 2018
Somehow, this amusingly chaotic mashup of genres finds a way to strike a final note that’s simple and true. Read full review
70
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 28, 2018
In short, this is a genre mash-up has no agenda except providing escapist fun. Mission accomplished. Read full review
70
Screen DailyKim NewmanNov 28, 2018
It may be a touch overlong – perhaps because everyone has to stop running to sing songs at regular intervals – and the emotional beats familiar, with moments of poignance, tragedy, gruesome comedy (a decapitated zombie in a snowman suit) and absurdity. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonNov 28, 2018
This schlocky horror picture show combines a zesty young cast with an infectious comic energy. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubApril WolfeNov 27, 2018
Unfortunately, the film, written by Alan McDonald from a short by the late Viner Ryan McHenry, at times comes closer to a facsimile than a parody. When McPhail does hit the high notes, however, he really hits them. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldDec 5, 2018
Does “Anna” deliver on its billing? Well, it does for a while. For its first half, the movie’s blend of earnest teen crooning and dismembered blood-geyser heads is pretty entertaining. Read full review
63
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiNov 30, 2018
What’s strangest about this almost-comedy, though, isn’t its mish-mash of unlikely genres, but the earnest approach to them. “Apocalypse” begins as a “High School Musical” look-alike with poppy group numbers in cafeterias and hallways. One song, “Hollywood Ending,” is a dead ringer for “Stick to the Status Quo.” Read full review
58
Original-CinLiam LaceyDec 6, 2018
The charm and the limitations of this modestly budgeted, good-hearted trifle, set in a middle-class Scottish village, are its youthful energy and anxiousness to please. Along with the mechanically efficient tunes from the team of Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly, the entire film feels as if it could have been written and produced by a group of bright theatre students. Read full review
58
ConsequenceRandall ColburnNov 29, 2018
There’s a rich, hilarious novelty to the film’s juxtaposition of glittering pop and ultraviolence, but by virtue of the clear disconnect between story and song, that novelty quickly wears thin. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 6, 2018
The results take neither the high road nor the low road, settling instead for an oddly bland middle course. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisDec 5, 2018
Apocalypse also doesn’t excel in the teen angst department, because the characters are not fleshed out enough. The love triangle is not convincing, and except for Anna and her father, we don’t care a whole lot about what happens to the characters, perhaps because we didn’t get enough time to know them in the beginning. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithNov 26, 2018
The film's biggest problem is its inability to lend its clichés and tropes any dramatic thrust or satirical bite. Read full review
42
The PlaylistRyan OliverSep 3, 2018
Admirable and charming, yet uninspired and un-engaging, Anna and the Apocalypse doesn’t use its genre mash-up to subvert the respective clichés but more so brings the baggage of coming-of-age movie and zombie movie tropes with it. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 29, 2018
Anna and the Apocalypse does have its singular moments. On the whole, though, I’d say don’t bite. Read full review
40
CineVueAdam LowesNov 29, 2018
Ultimately, Anna and the Apocalypse ends up lacking the requisite bite to really make it fly as that quirky leftfield offering it so badly wants to be. Read full review
40
The New York TimesManohla DargisNov 29, 2018
Anna and the Apocalypse is more sketch than developed movie. Directed by John McPhail from a script by McHenry and Alan McDonald, the movie is thinly plotted, its pacing slack, its staging uninspired; Anna remains merely an idea for a plucky heroine, despite Hunt’s smile and sweat. Read full review
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