OPEN up this delightful early Christmas present which blends wide-eyed romance, knowing comedy, zombie horror action, festive spirit and catchy tunes. It’s a mixed bag in the best of ways.
Anna (rising star Ella Hunt) is a normal Scottish high schooler just about to graduate who is trying to figure out a way to explain to her widowed dad (Mark Benton) that she wants to take a gap year. Meanwhile, she and her best friend John (Malcolm Cumming) are coming to terms with the fact that they are going to be separated for the first time since they were kids.
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One day, however, their regular worries and those of their friends Lisa (Marli Siu), Chris (Christopher Leveaux) and American-born student Steph (Sarah Swire) are put on hold when a zombie outbreak descends on their small Scottish town. The group must stick together as they attempt to reach their loved ones trapped in their school.
This is the second full feature from Glaswegian director John McPhail, following his charming, for-all-ages rom-com Where Do We Go From Here?. And it’s an impressive one indeed, not just because of its ambitious attempt to aim for many targets but because of how well it actually hits them.
It’s a hard film to categorise, but the beauty of it is being unable to pin it down. It has swagger, personality and confidence but also a heartfelt sincerity that’s as refreshing as it is endearing; there’s a cheesiness to it, for sure, but it knowingly embraces that in a really fun way.
The comedy-tinged horror works just as well as the romance; it doesn’t so much flirt with zombie movie traditions as outright marry them, with not even death doing them part. The teenage high school drama is sincerely played by a cast who attack the material with gusto.
Hunt is a real star in the making as she leads the charge amongst the amiable younger cast, offset against Paul Kaye’s pernickety school administrator, ostensibly the main villain causing problems for the kids amongst the undead chaos.
And the bursts of ridiculously catchy music (from lunch hall number Hollywood Ending to zombie-killing anthem Soldier At War), composed by Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly, provide the film’s toe-tapping heartbeat.
McPhail understands that each of those individual elements have to stand on their own two feet for the combination to be effective. With tinges of everything from Shaun of the Dead to High School Musical, he has delivered a film that knows what it wants to be, with assured direction usually seen in filmmakers with years more experience.
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