Firebook Entertainment‘s highly anticipated feature, Párvulos, Children of the Apocalypse (spoiler-free review here), has arrived in theaters, promising a unique and unsettling cinematic experience. Helmed by acclaimed Mexican genre specialist Isaac Ezban, the film offers a sui generis take on the coming-of-age narrative within the grim backdrop of a world decimated by plague.
Párvulos, which translates to “Infants” or “Toddlers,” plunges audiences into a dystopian future where a viral apocalypse has extinguished civilization. The narrative centers on three juvenile brothers – Salvador, Oliver, and Benjamin – portrayed by Farid Escalante Correa, Leonardo Cervantes, and Mateo Ortega Casillas respectively. Isolated in a secluded cabin nestled deep within the woods, the young protagonists navigate the desolate landscape, burdened by a dark and disturbing secret hidden down in their basement – something they are compelled to keep nourished for their own precarious survival.
To celebrate the film’s release, we had the opportunity to speak with director Isaac Ezban, who shared insights into the long journey of bringing Párvulos to the screen, a project that first began to germinate in his mind in 2016, years before the global COVID-19 pandemic cast its shadow on the real world. He also elaborated on his approach to subverting familiar zombie and infected tropes, focusing on the emotional core of his young protagonists’ struggle. Ezban concluded by sharing his enduring fascination with coming-of-age narratives, a thematic element brilliantly interwoven with the harrowing circumstances depicted in Párvulos.
