Entertainment

The 'Anna & the Apocalypse' Trailer Delightfully Mixes Zombies With Holiday Cheer

Move over Halloween, the zombies are now coming for Christmas. The trailer for Anna and the Apocalypse mixes the undead with holiday cheer that will make you want to sing loud for all to hear. Oh yes, amongst other things Anna and the Apocalypse is also a musical, which definitely makes this the movie you definitely didn't know you wanted. But after watching the trailer it's clear the film is a must-see this holiday season.

As soon as this trailer starts rolling, it's obvious that Anna and the Apocalypse isn't you're typical holiday movie. And yes, it's definitely because of all the zombies. This funny twist on "Twas the Night Before Christmas" has high school senior Anna (Ella Hunt) starting her Christmas morning not with visions of sugar plums dancing in her head, but fighting off the end times. Luckily, she can whistle while she works to get rid of these walkers that have taken over her small Scottish town of Little Haven.

With a little help from her friends — best friend (and secret admirer) John (Malcolm Cumming), aspiring reporting Steph (Sarah Swire) and her ex bad Nick (Ben Wiggins) — Anna stabs, sings, and slams those zombies that may or may not be Justin Bieber. Hate to break it to you, but the Biebs was turned in this reality where bowling balls, shopping carts filled with presents, and sharpened candy cane lawn decorations all make for good weapons. Seriously, that candy cane could poke an eye out, which is actually a good thing in this case.

The movie, which gets a limited theater release on Nov. 30 before expanding nationwide on Dec. 7, is a lot to take in, but the trailer swears Anna and the Apocalypse is a mix of Shaun of the Dead and La La Land. Let's just hope Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone don't suffer the same fate as Bieber or that snowman whoever they are.

In all seriousness, Gosling has an interesting connection to the film. According to Variety, the movie was inspired by a 2011 short film called Zombie Musical by videographer Ryan McHenry, who was best known as the creator of the "Ryan Gosling won't eat his cereal" meme. Unfortunately, in 2015, McHenry died of cancer and wasn't able to direct a full length version of his film so director John McPhail made Anna and the Apocalypse in his honor. McHenry is still listed as a co-writer of this zombie High School Musical that packs a punch but also the heart of say a John Hughes movie, but, you know, with zombies.

Anna and the Apocalypse may be unlike any other holiday movie this year, or let's be honest, any year but that's what makes it so darn delightful. It's like nothing anyone's ever seen before and McPhail wanted it that way. He even told USA Today that he doesn't see Anna and the Apocalypse as a Christmas-y Christmas movie. "I want this to be this generation's ‘Gremlins,’" he told the newspaper,"that anti-Christmas movie you can't wait to put on every year." From the looks of the trailer, McPhail might just get his wish. That is if Santa Claus thinks he's been good this year.