Portraits of the Apocalypse

Argentina is in the midst of a horror renaissance. Or, at the very least, one hell of a hot streak. Leading the charge is director Demian Rugna, whose one-two punch of Terrified (2017) and When Evil Lurks (2023) pushed the genre into traumatic new territory. But he isn't alone.  A growing wave of overlooked Argentine horror films is quietly haunting the various streaming services. Or you can skip to the front of the line with Portraits of the Apocalypse (2024), a zombie anthology that explores the rise of the undead through personal, spiritual, and familial perspectives.

Split into four stories, the first segment, Murder at the Crime Scene, is a rough introduction. It drops viewers into the fractured psyche of a police officer struggling to clean up a gruesome mess before backup arrives. It's stylish, suspenseful, and intense, but the stakes are never fully established—unless something was lost in translation. Rats is much more straightforward and showcases Argentina's knack for domestic horror as a dysfunctional family wrestles with personal conflicts while investigating whatever lurks inside the kitchen cupboard. Next, Ruby borrows a trick or two from the V/H/S franchise, telling the story of an impending pregnancy through found-footage confessionals. Finally, King of the Damned follows three survivors attempting a zombie exorcism, only to unleash something far worse.

A regular on the horror festival circuit, Portraits of the Apocalypse feels remarkably cohesive despite being produced by four different filmmaking teams. The second and fourth segments make the strongest impression within the film's brisk 75-minute runtime, but even the weaker entries offer welcome departures from familiar zombie clichés. The common thread linking all four stories? They all end far too soon, fading to black just as things were getting good! Anthology films are almost destined to be hit-or-miss, and this one bats around .500. Even so, it's an intriguing collection that leaves you wishing there was more.

The DVD presentation is appropriately budget-friendly for anyone willing to take a chance on a blind buy. Viewers can choose between an English dub or the original Spanish-language track. Bonus features are sparse, consisting of a slideshow and trailers for similar titles from Cleopatra Entertainment's catalog.

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