Back in the late aughts/early 2010s, The Marvel Cinematic Universe had just kicked off, middle schoolers were duking it out in Call of Duty, and the world was drowning in zombie media. If we weren’t plugged into the latest apocalypse movie, we were toying with indie games that novelized the zombie premise to the point of parody. Perhaps it’s a good thing Outside wasn’t made back then, lest this genius zombie story be lost in the last decade’s sea of undead.
Per FlixPatrol, this day of Oct. 21 has seen Filipino-Australian writer-director Carlo Ledesma’s Netflix-exclusive horror drama dance between fourth and fifth place with true cybercrime documentary Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare. All the while, Jurassic World Dominion, down in 10th place, continues to underachieve compared to its Spielberg-directed predecessor.
Outside stars Beauty Gonzalez as Iris Abel, who, along with her husband Francis (Sid Lucero) and two children, take refuge in her husband’s parents’ mansion to protect themselves from a sudden zombie apocalypse. Food is scarce and hope for the future is scarcer, but as days turn into weeks, it becomes apparent that the zombies aren’t the only thing that Iris was hoping to run away from.
Ledesma pinpoints the narrative potential of a domestic abuse story dressed as zombie apocalypse, which is impressive, but his ability to bring it to life with a nuanced hand cements Outside as one-of-a-kind in a notoriously repetitive genre. The film dexterously peels back the layers of Francis’ tragically corrupted masculinity, all while keeping its emotional tension centered on Iris and her children.
The result is a strikingly complex family portrait that slots into the zombie apocalypse setting a multitude of ways. Pay attention to the moment where Francis kills the zombie that chases Iris and Lucas back into the house as they were trying to leave, and how “Is this zombie going to bite Iris and/or Lucas” gives way to a much more sinister tension.
As Ledesma reveals in an interview with Philippine news site Rappler, “my team and I looked more at families-in-crisis films like Ordinary People, Revolutionary Road, Kramer Vs Kramer, and American Beauty. While Outside is a zombie film on the surface, to me its core is really about all the revelations that go on with the Abel family whenever they are seated at their dining table. That’s where the true horror and heartbreak lies for me.”
Moreover, consider the premise of a zombie apocalypse, and how so many teenage boys (particularly those of the late aughts/early 2010s) daydreamed of going ham in the middle of such an event, if not for the adrenaline rush of fighting for your life with a chainsaw, then to venture forth into a collapsed society where you’re not beholden to any rules. Consider further how this fantasy connects to the more grown-up masculine actualization of keeping one’s family safe.
Indeed, how easy it would be for an emotionally-damaged father to justify his actions as he gets drunk not only on the idea/façade of providing and protecting, but doing so in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Take a bow, Ledesma and company.
