Writers Ricardo Aguado-Fentanes and Isaac Ezban achieve a nearly impossible feat with their new post-apocalyptic horror pic PÁRVULOS: CHILDREN OF THE APOCALYPSE. It’s not a just a zombie movie, or a pandemic movie, or even a kid’s movie about being self sufficient and coming together as a family. It’s a blend of the three. Older brother Salvador (Farid Escalante Correa) and younger brothers Benjamin (Mateo Ortega Casillas) and Oliver (Leonardo Cervantes) live in a remote country home. Civilization has crumbled after a series of catastrophic global events, leaving humanity in disarray. Yet, despite these bleak circumstances, the three persevere by foraging for food, attempting to grow their own produce, and above all, caring for one another. By infusing a fresh point of view and throwing in a few secret ingredients PÁRVULOS finds a new way to remind us why zombie movies, and more importantly Horror, is such an effective genre.

The film opens with Salvador making a breakfast that legit made me fight off gagging. You do what you gotta do is the point. Meanwhile Benjamin and Oliver are taking a swim in the nearby lake. As the three trudge through their daily lives we pick up details. Food is scarce. The three boys are alone. There is a monster in the basement. Yes, the three boys care for a beast that lives in a cage in their basement. The question of why is skipped over and instead we learn that the youngest, Oliver, is banned from helping feed this creature.

Eventually the scrappy Valeria (Carla Adell) arrives. Having traveled in the wilderness on her own we learn more about the state of the world. It wasn’t just a pandemic that began to wipe out humanity, but a series of events from there including a series of untested vaccines that triggered zombification. If that wasn’t enough, a marauding band of religious zealots is searching for and murdering any remaining survivors to move along the second coming of Christ.  The enemies here are panic, paranoia and religious fanaticism. The hero is family and compassion. Obviously, the eventual goal for the three boys is ultimate safety and reconnecting with their parents Mama (Norma Flores) and Papa (Horacio F. Lazo). Will it happen before the darker side of human nature can seize an opportunity?

As the film briskly careens through one situation to another, co-writer and director Ezban is careful to maintain the central focus on the connection between Salvador, Benjamin, and Oliver. During a particularly funny and endearing moment, Oliver serenades the house with Christmas carols. In another scene, we watch as Salvador and Benjamin take turns reading Oliver a bedtime story so he can fall asleep. This is the cohesive tissue that holds so much of the film together as it reveals its share of dark surprises.

I was honestly surprised at the impressive performances from younger stars Casillas and Cervantes who deliver scenes that command visceral, tear-inducing emotions. Younger actors that can actually pull that off are rare. It’s also a testament to the talents of Casillas Cervantes who guide and chose the takes with the most impact. Although, I will say that colorist Ricardo Ruvalcaba was either allowed or told to go way too far with the bleak look of the film that washed everything in sepia and pops of red.

The complaints are minimal and nearly inconsequential to the overall impact of the story and the effectiveness of PÁRVULOS: CHILDREN OF THE APOCALYPSE as a film. Fresh is rarely a word associated with anything post apocalyptic, much less zombie, but PÁRVULOS is just that. It’s a movie that mines and captures nuances that many before have missed or have failed to achieve. In short, take the time and watch PÁRVULOS: CHILDREN OF THE APOCALYPSE. This is an original tale of survival and horror in a world trhat we have seen so many times before.