No, not Evita Peron's autobiography. Today's entry is from Argentina, but dried out zombies are a bit more appealing than narcissistic dictators. Post-apocalyptic landscapes are visually striking in these films and the creatures are...well...dried out. 2018's "I Am Toxic" is a story about a confused (amnesiac) survivor of some sort of apocalypse. "Survivor" may be a relative term as in these types of films they are rarely the lucky ones. Directed by Pablo Pares, this Argentinian always seems to have interesting takes on zombie apocalypses (see "PussyCake").
This is what happened. World War 3 in the northern hemisphere. America and other nations have been decimated by biological weapons. They send planes filled with their infected or dead to Argentina and dump the bodies from the air. How did Argentina become a war casualty dump? Maybe a metaphor for the arrogance which the North looks at the global South? In the midst of these bodies, Perro (Esteban Prol) wakes. He has no memory. Even worse, some of the infected rise up instead of dying and eat human flesh. Perro is almost eaten until Padre (Horacio Fontova) rescues him and brings him back to his compound. Lucky for Perro? Nope. Very soon, Perro understands he should not have trusted his savior.
Padre and his two henchmen (Sergio Podeley and Gaston Cocchiarale) are psychos with crossbows. They torture him and seem to insinuate they will eat him. But wait...also at the compound is a beautiful mute woman (Fini Bocchino) who helps Perro escape. They'll come across each other more and at times she saves him, other times she also tries to murder him. Now Perro is hunted by this weird clan. Even worse...Perro's memory is slowly coming back...and it isn't a heartwarming backstory that awaits us. All the questions posed will be answered and this won't add up to the feel good film of 2018.
Just who is Perro and how did he end up in the trash heap of human history? What is the deal with the mute woman and does she love or hate Perro? Is this film an accurate metaphor of the way America and western Europe treat South America? Perhaps this is one film which will make us reconsider our opinions on the Falkland Island War back in the 80s. God save The Islas Malvinas! See "I Am Toxic" and add it to your repertoire of post-apocalyptic horror films.
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