Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End

*Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End* is a 2024 Spanish survival-horror film directed by Carles Torrens. Its Spanish title is *Apocalipsis Z: El principio del fin*. The film adapts Manel Loureiro’s novel of the same name, bringing to the screen a zombie story that began as an online serial before becoming a published book. Francisco Ortiz plays Manel, a man living in Galicia who is still grieving the death of his wife when reports of a rapidly spreading disease begin to dominate the news.

At first, Manel’s response to the outbreak is to remain inside his home with his cat, Lúculo. That decision gives the film a particular starting point: its central survivor is not leading a group or searching for a cure. He is trying to keep himself and his pet alive while the world outside becomes increasingly dangerous. As supplies run low, staying home ceases to be a viable plan. Manel must venture out for food and find a way through a landscape where infected people are not the only threat.

The film follows his attempt to reach his sister and her family, who are away from him when the crisis begins. His journey takes him beyond the relative safety of his house and eventually onto the water. Those changes of setting distinguish Manel’s story from a siege confined to one building: the outbreak affects his neighborhood, his route of escape, and the people he meets along the way. His attachment to Lúculo remains part of those practical decisions, making the cat more than a detail of his life before the disaster.

Released on Prime Video in 2024, the film also features José María Yazpik, Berta Vázquez and Iria del Río. It is an adaptation of the first *Apocalypse Z* novel, rather than an original screenplay merely borrowing the franchise’s name. Loureiro’s book supplies its central premise: an ordinary man must work out how to survive after an epidemic destroys the routines and institutions on which he has depended. Torrens’s film retains the combination of outbreak, isolation and journey, with Manel’s personal loss established before the wider catastrophe takes hold.

That sequence matters to the plot. Manel has already withdrawn from much of ordinary life when the disease arrives, so his initial isolation is both a survival choice and an extension of his grief. The outbreak then forces him to act, seek supplies, and pursue contact with family. The result is a story anchored in one survivor’s circumstances: a Galician home, a cat he refuses to abandon, and a dangerous route toward the people he hopes are still alive.