Scottish director John McPhail‘s Anna and the Apocalypse, which puts a musical spin on a Christmas horror tale, has been acquired by Orion Pictures for release in theaters this holiday season!

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.