The film is a dark, twisted and chaotic story about the toxic effects of soy on our society. These are not just your average soybeans, but genetically modified soy grown by Monsanto to be resistant to herbicides like Roundup.
Summary
It seems genuine for what it strives for, and despite some post-film concerns, I would suggest it to lovers of low-budget indies since it conjures up an universe with distinctive locations, excellent make-up effects work, and an entrenched feeling of the end of all things. It’s bleak, yet effective, and the actors all go all out. As far as I could determine, it never had a false note.
Plot
A guy wakes up with no recollection in a shattered post-apocalyptic world and is kidnapped by a band of marauders who appear to know more about his identity than he does.
Review
The year is 2101, and the world has devolved into a desolate wasteland inhabited by three types of people: human survivors who have become cannibals, and two types of zombies. The Dry Ones are a kind of zombie found in the Southern Hemisphere, whereas other zombies found in the Northern Hemisphere seem to be less dry.
A guy (Esteban Prol) awakens in a dumping site for Dry (essentially walking skeletons or completely decayed) zombies with no recollection of where he is or what has happened to the world, and he is saved by a crusty marauder who tells him the lowdown: The world is in shambles, and most survivors must band together to hunt for sustenance, despite the fact that civilizations still exist far beyond our understanding (planes are still buzzing about doing god knows what).
The marauder calls this man Perro (“dog”) and brings him to his tiny station, where he is thrown into a filthy jail cell where another corpse is rotting. Perro, it turns out, is on the menu!
There are a few other cannibals in the outpost, including a mute young lady called Iris (Fini Bocchino), who attempts to assist Perro by letting him free, which leads to a chase as the other marauders pursue him to a wrecked building where a woman’s body is hanging.
As Perro regains his memories, he learns that the lady who was hanged was his wife – and that he was the one who did it – and that Iris is his daughter. But all of this knowledge comes too late, as Perro gets infected and gradually transforms into one of the Dry Ones, while his pursuers follow him relentlessly. Iris, his daughter, will be caught in the midst of the battle.
I Am Toxic is a grimy apocalyptic thriller that reminded me a touch of Luc Besson’s Le Dernier Combat and another South American apocalyptic picture called Scavenger (which was disgusting and awful). It builds its own tiny world and lives in it for 80 minutes.
It seems genuine for what it strives for, and despite some post-film concerns, I would suggest it to lovers of low-budget indies since it conjures up an universe with distinctive locations, excellent make-up effects work, and an entrenched feeling of the end of all things.
It’s bleak, yet effective, and the actors all go all out. As far as I could determine, it never had a false note. Pablo Pares, co-writer and director.
The MVD Visual DVD is now available. There are no additional features, and only the Spanish language track is accessible with English subtitles.
