Holiday Horror: Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

If you crave a blood-soaked festive vibe with plenty of violence and laughs, check out the zombie musical “Anna and the Apocalypse”. 

Here at AlethalWeaponArt, we absolutely love Christmas Horror, which is why we were so excited to return with our 3rd Annual “25 Days of Horror” watch-along, heavily inspired by the King of Christmas Horror himself (and Morbidly Beautiful writer), Matthew DuPée’, and his incredible book, A Scary Little Christmas. So, we were thrilled to be asked by Morbidly Beautiful to share one of our all-time holiday horror favorites.

We judge the quality of these films based on three main factors: Christmas Pageantry, Fun Factor, and Acting/Plot/Writing.

Obviously, a festive vibe to set the tone is a must. Decorated trees, lights, snow on the ground, and yet another rendition of jingle bells playing in the background while people get slaughtered; that’s what Christmas is all about.

Any horror movie (but especially Holiday-themed horror) should be fun to watch. We take into account how delightful the kills are, how much blood and guts we get to see, and most importantly, how much fun the killer(s) is having.

Of course, the acting, plot, and writing are important to any movie, but we must admit we loosely judge this, especially during the holiday season. We don’t expect Oscar winners when talking about demon Santas and evil elves. However, we do expect the film to be decently shot, have actors who look like they’re trying, and have a plot that doesn’t leave us wondering what the hell we just watched.

Anna and the Apocalypse encompasses everything we love about modern Christmas horror; it truly is the gold standard.

Directed by John McPhail from a screenplay by Alan McDonald and Ryan McHenry (based on McHenry’s BAFTA-nominated short Zombie Musical), you couldn’t ask for more from Anna and the Apocalypse when it comes to delivering a festive vibe.

At every turn, there are lights, holiday sweaters, and candy canes — and don’t even get us started on the music! It is such a unique movie due to the musical aspect, and the soundtrack is good enough to stand alone as well. You can listen to and enjoy these songs all season long.

It’s very clear that the creators of this film had some fun with it, and that’s what we love to see. The creative kills — including a seesaw decapitation, bowling ball head bash, and spatula stabbing — are awesome, and they are exactly what makes this movie so enjoyable.

Zombies are always fun, and a Christmas Zombie Musical is just top-notch entertainment.

Though it contains a cast of mostly unknowns, the acting is fantastic; these are all multi-talented young actors who care about what they are doing, and it shows. The characters have chemistry, and the dialogue is believable. There is never a dull moment in this film, but it never feels rushed and flows seamlessly.

Anna and the Apocalypse is everything a Christmas horror film should be: well-written, well-acted, hilarious, gory, and so much fun.

Stream on Shudder.

From the ladies of AlethalWeaponArt, a horror art company owned by Aletha and Marissa out of Minnesota. Check out their Movie Nights on Instagram every Friday for more horror movie content. Connect with them, see their products, and join their community at alethalweaponart.com.