Parents' Guide to Parvulos: Children of the Apocalypse

This gory tale is overly long and can't avoid familiar zombie apocalypse cliches, but it still comes together in interesting ways, building compelling character dynamics and a bleak visual scheme. Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse begins with a bit of philosophy about constants in nature—concluding that the only real constants are family and change, an idea the movie sticks with. Director Isaac Ezban strips most of the color from the movie's images, giving it an eerie, almost black-and-white look, but the bits of color that seep through keep it from feeling romantic or nostalgic.

The three brothers are immediately compelling. It's hard not to think of Lord of the Flies as they venture into danger wearing armor made up of whatever bits and pieces they can find around the house. The oldest, Salvador, is clearly in charge, but he's also inexperienced in certain ways of the world. Oliver is a typical middle child, protecting his younger brother and standing up to his older brother. A visitor, Valeria (Carla Adell), throws things intriguingly off kilter for a while before the movie tackles its main theme, centered on the two zombies in the basement. Just how far does hope go? How long can it last? Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse doesn't answer that question; it allows viewers to ponder.