Movies
‘Anna and the Apocalypse’ Comic-Con Art Shows a Holiday Bloodbath
Orion Pictures will release Scottish director John McPhail‘s Anna and the Apocalypse, which puts a musical spin on a Christmas horror tale, in select theaters on November 30, 2018, before expanding wider on Dec. 7.
Collider shares this Comic-Con exclusive poster, the first in a series of four designed by award-winning artist Jim Evans (T.A.Z), who has also created posters for films including American Ultra and The Green Inferno as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Saw franchises. Music fans may recognize him for his work with bands like U2, The Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Blink-182, The Wu Tang Clan, Rage Against The Machine, and Pearl Jam.
Trace Thurman reviewed the film for Bloody out of its World Premiere at last year’s Fantastic Fest Film Festival, writing:
“Anna and the Apocalypse is a Joyous Celebration of Zombies, Musicals and Christmas!”
In the film, “When a zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven, Anna and her high school pals must fight, sing and slash their way to survival. Teaming with her best friend John, Anna and her crew try to save family and faculty alike as they encounter zombified snowmen, a manic bachelor party and teenage hormones. 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.”
Ella Hunt (Our Robot Overlords) stars in the title role alongside Mark Benton (ITV drama The Halcyon) and Paul Kaye (Game Of Thrones). The cast also includes up-and-comers Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Ben Wiggins and Marli Siu.
Ryan McHenry, who wrote and directed the 2010 short film “Zombie Musical” upon which it is based, wrote the original script (with Alan McDonald) and was due to direct the feature, but he sadly died of cancer back in 2015.
Recent comments from producer Jason Blum suggested that a retool was in order when last year’s The Exorcist: Believer wasn’t as successful as Blumhouse and Universal hoped. That certainly seems to be the case, as Deadline reports tonight that Mike Flanagan is in talks to direct the next Exorcist movie.
Director David Gordon Green was initially on board to direct an entire trilogy of new movies in the franchise, with The Exorcist: Believer intended to be only the first film in that three-film sequel series. Originally set to hit theaters on April 18, 2025, sequel The Exorcist: Deceiver was delayed when Green left the project.
If talks come to fruition, Flanagan will take over, likely steering the franchise in a new direction.
The first film in the trilogy was released theatrically on October 13, 2023, with Leslie Odom Jr. starring alongside a returning Ellen Burstyn from the original classic.
In Believer, “Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) has raised their daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own.
“But when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum) disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before.”
The final moments of The Exorcist: Believer brought Linda Blair’s Regan MacNeil back into the fold, seeming to suggest that the legacy character could return in future installments.
As for Flanagan, the horror filmmaker has Life of Chuck on the way. Flanagan previously helmed Stephen King adaptations Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game, and he’s also known for titles including Ouija: Origin of Evil and Oculus, along with the Netflix horror shows The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Fall of the House of Usher.
Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
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