'Outside' review: Trauma lingers in Netflix Philippines' 1st zombie film
MANILA, Philippines — Sid Lucero and Beauty Gonzalez front Netflix Philippines' first original zombie movie "Outside" by Carlo Ledesma, where the undead are not the only things one should fear when everything is falling apart.
Lucero portrays Francis who takes his wife Iris (Gonzalez) and their two sons to the farm where he grew up in an attempt to escape a zombie outbreak.
It takes time for the family to adjust to rural life during the end of the world, especially Francis, who remains haunted by memories of his family, many of which took place in the house they now reside in.
Iris beckons to move further up north in hopes that there are more survivors, but Francis insists on staying put, and does everything he can to keep his family together.
The trailer for "Outside" spiked up further interest and expectations from the public, rejoicing that there is a competent Filipino zombie film at their fingertips.
The movie will succeed in that regard because, as Ledesma said months before, "Outside" is not simply a zombie film but a film about a family trying to survive.
The lumbering undead are just a backdrop in this thriller, where a family is struggling to literally stay together because of actions in the past that are threatening to pull them apart.
At the center of all this is Lucero's Francis, who is tormented by trauma induced by his father (Joel Torre in a special role) from beginning to the end of the film.
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That generational trauma builds and is lashed upon Iris and the eldest son Joshua (newcomer Marco Masa) for reasons that would make viewers heartbroken.
The 142-minute runtime could have been cut to a solid two hours. The shortened version would have made the story more subtle yet just as compelling, even if that means working around or beyond the short screentime of Enchong Dee.
Much of what makes "Outside" succeed so well is from behind the camera, or at least what it chooses for its viewers to see, with beautiful isolated shots of Negros Occidental (where Ledesma and Gonzalez are from), amplified by cleverly-used visual effects.
Ledesma and cinematographer Shing-Fung Cheung utilize a lot of difficult long takes, which is not just an admirable stylistic choice but one forced upon them due to uncooperative weather that threatened the film's month-long shoot.
And, of course, the zombies themselves should not be forgotten, played by locals in gruesomely remarkable makeup and costumes, many of them appearing on the big screen for the first time.
Ledesma also gives a new spin on the undead by giving them some sliver of remaining humanity that adds to the gripping nature of "Outside."
It is hard to see anyone feeling displeased by "Outside," given the leaps and swings it attempts, most of them making the mark.
The end of the world will bring out the rawness in everyone, and whoever is left will be tested not just by what remains but also what they remember from the life they once had.
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