EXCLUSIVE: The Scariest Thing About ‘Outside’ is Not the Zombies, It’s the Family Trauma

Grab your friends and some snacks—we’re watching Outside, Netflix PH’s first zombie movie for Halloween

Who doesn’t love a thrilling zombie movie to celebrate Halloween? Netflix Philippines has just released its first zombie movie starring Sid Lucero, Beauty Gonzalez, Marco Masa, and Aiden Tyler Patdu. With the direction of Carlo Ledesma—also known for his works like The Tunnel and Sunod—Outside is not your typical zombie film. In a post-apocalyptic setting, a family of four settles in Francis’ (Lucero) childhood home that harbored his past trauma, forcing his family to confront the internal issues within them while also dealing with what is happening outside their farm. Meshing together drama and horror, expect the film to scare you not only from the dead ones but from the potential monsters we all have to keep our own families safe.

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Generational Trauma

Director Carlo Ledesma explained during the screening of Outside that generational trauma isn’t talked about enough. For years, decades, and even centuries, parents have passed this down to their children until it has become a cycle of unending pain within families. Across the film, numerous symbols and metaphors address this cycle that leads the family into a conflict that they can’t escape from.

Each of the characters in Outside had their own ways of dealing with this cycle being passed down to them, and there were significant key points in the film that will leave your mouth open in shock and horror.

Family Relationships

The children were not exempted from the horrors of the outside world in this film. Their presence created a heavy atmosphere for the family dealing with their internal struggles, which leads us to question how they’re expected to grow up and have a childhood in a terrifying world. 

Further, Beauty Gonzales’ character Iris touches upon the lengths mothers will take to protect their families. No matter how hard, harsh, or painful she must be, Iris is a character that plays an integral role in this film that will have you at the edge of your seat.

The Monsters Inside All Of Us

“It’s a film about zombies but ultimately, it’s a film about an imperfect family who are trying to do their best,” Director Ledesma said during the dialogue of Outside. “No one here is perfect; no one here is a bad guy. No one here is an ‘evil character’.”

You would think that the dead ones in the movie would be horrifying, but the film addresses the fact that there are people who are even more terrifying than zombies. Outside is more than a zombie film; It’s a psychological thriller that exposes the horror and the monsters inside all of us, whether it is the traumas and baggage we carry on our backs or the horrifying sacrifices one must make for survival. 

When asked about their favorite or most memorable scene to shoot, Director Ledesma answered, “It was a scene where she says, ‘I promise I’ll be better.’” During filming, the director asked Beauty what she wanted to achieve in a particular scene as a parent, and she said that just wanted to be better, leading this particular ad-lib scene. “For me, that’s the message of the movie: it’s about us as people. We should try to be better.”

A Spectacular Cast

With eye-catching cinematography, intriguing plotline, beautiful script, and incredible director came a talented cast. Sid Lucero, Beauty Gonzalez, Marco Masa, and even child actor Aiden Tyler Patdu all gave memorable and remarkable performances. 

“Because of the way it was written, what we focused on was how to get the vision on film,” Sid said about getting into their characters. “We took it a day at a time basically, and I think a lot of it was behind the scenes, getting to know each other.”

“Getting into the character is not that hard because the script was beautifully written by direk,” Beauty added. With Ledesma’s vision and the help of her co-actors, getting into the process and her character became easy. What was difficult was getting out of the process. With the story’s many layers and how it became honest and personal to the actors, it took Beauty a while to get out of her character.

The cast and director also shared how they were “locked in” to their shoot location for the duration of their shoot. While it was a challenge for all of them, it also helped the cast connect with one another. 

“When Beauty was saying that it was hard for her to shake the character, I think it’s a testament to the hard work she put into the character. All of them, I could see they threw themselves into their roles. And for that, I’m just grateful,” Ledesma explained proudly.

The Details Beyond the Story

This story was planted in Ledesma’s head for over 10 years. What was originally supposed to be set in Australia, he decided to set it in the Philippines when he came back home from Australia. By the time they were reading to film, the pandemic struck, which to him became a blessing in disguise as Ledesma was able to polish his story more. 

“It allowed me to hone in on what scared me at the time, and what scared me the most – which I think most of the cast can agree with – is losing my children or having to do something to my children to survive,” the director said, bringing up an integral scene of the film. 

In showing the monster inside a human being, Ledesma thought to give the dead ones a sliver of humanity to them. The zombies in Outside are different from others because they bring with them their last few moments before they were infected, an eerie detail that would give you goosebumps. Can you imagine an infected loved one saying “sorry” repeatedly as they crawl to you?

All the actors had personal favorites in the film. Marco Masa’s unforgettable scenes were those that showed the mother-son connection he had with Iris, Beauty’s character. To the actor, he felt the gravity of the atmosphere and emotions, and the connection he and Beauty built.

Sid’s personal favorite was a particular one-take shot done on the bridge that showed off his stunts. “It was single-handedly probably the best scene I’ve done in my entire life, and it took an entire town to do it,” the actor remembered fondly. “And then the Beauty scene. I was called in late and got front-row center seats to probably one of the best performances of an actress I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

This particular scene was also Beauty’s favorite, among all the other unforgettable scenes of the film, showing her commitment and talent to her character.