Prime Video's Spanish zombie hit is about a man, his cat and a closed border

If you told me back in 2024 that a Spanish zombie film would end up dominating the streaming charts years later, I'd have probably asked what you were drinking. Yet here we are in 2026, and Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End continues to pull in viewers for Prime Video, long after its original Halloween premiere. Not bad for a film where one of the primary sidekicks is literally a cat.

Prime Video’s Spanish-language horror, Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End, cracked Amazon’s global Top 10 non-English Originals the week of 17–23 August 2026.

Not Your Average Zombie Flick

Directed by Carles Torrens from a script by Ángel Agudo, the film quickly found its footing thanks to a slightly more thoughtful approach to the genre. The story follows Francisco Ortiz as Manel – a methodically unsociable bloke living in Galicia, still reeling after his wife’s death and clinging to the company of his grumpy cat, Lúculo. Of course, everything goes directly to hell when a nasty virus starts shredding the fabric of European society, turning people rabidly violent – and no, it’s not technically zombies, but if you’ve seen 28 Days Later, you’ll get the gist.

What sets Apocalypse Z apart – and actually makes it work – is the focus on the slow burn collapse. We’re not flung into the wasteland after the fact; instead, we get to ride shotgun with Manel as society goes from slightly fraught to properly apocalyptic. When supplies finally run out and his cat’s patience is wearing thin (as are everyone else’s), Manel heads out to find his surviving sister and her lot in the supposedly safe Canary Islands. This, predictably, becomes a nightmare, with borders closed, soldiers as hostile as the infected, and regular folk growing desperate by the day. That grumpy cat is no mere prop, either – Lúculo genuinely matters to the plot. A bit odd, perhaps, but definitely memorable.

From Sleeper Hit to Sequel

Despite a lukewarm 66% Rotten Tomatoes rating, audiences aren’t put off. In fact, shortly after its debut, it shot up the streaming charts and earned a greenlight for a second chapter. For context, it managed a comfortable tenth place worldwide in Amazon’s Top 10 non-English films as of late August – a proper feat considering all the big-budget competition out there.

• Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End premiered 31 October 2024
• Francisco Ortiz plays Manel, the reclusive protagonist with a soft spot for his cat
• The setting is Galicia, giving the film a flavour you don’t get from your average London, L.A., or generic woodland apocalypse
• Amazon greenlit a sequel after the original became a sleeper streaming success

The sequel, Apocalypse Z: New World, lands this coming Halloween and sticks with the original source material from the Manel Loureiro novels. But there’s a shake-up: Ortiz is out, and we’re now following Carlos Alcaide as Roberto. The action moves to the Canary Islands, supposedly Europe’s last safe haven, and judging by the streaming numbers, plenty of viewers will want to see how this new viral hellhole pans out.

Here’s Amazon’s official line for the sequel, which hints at things getting even messier:

"The dangerous operation turns into a desperate race for survival, and Roberto and his companions find themselves caught between hordes of infected and divided loyalties. Then the timeless question arises: save yourself, or risk everything to preserve what little humanity remains?"