(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)
MANILA, Philippines — Netflix Philippines premiered its first original homegrown zombie film, Outside, at an advanced screening, Wednesday, October 16, at the Grand Hyatt Manila in BGC.
The psychological thriller—a wedding of horror, suspense, and depth through family drama, helmed by Filipino-Australian filmmaker Carlo Ledesma—promised a fresh, and uniquely Filipino take on the zombie genre that promises audiences much to explore and ruminate on.
At the dialogue that followed the screening, the cast and director provided a comprehensive exploration of the film’s themes and production, where they broke down key scenes and shared the movie’s creative process—especially on one core element of the film: the family trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world, which is now populated by zombies.
This story follows Francis (Sid Lucero), the father figure, who guides his loved ones to a farmhouse, located in the countryside, in their quest for security and a semblance of normalcy. It delves into the family’s conflicts, inter-generational trauma, the difficulties of an isolated world, and Francis’ growing paranoia.
Ledesma’s creative direction was strongly influenced by his hometown of Negros Occidental, the emotions he felt while handling the pandemic firsthand, adding a personal element to the movie.
A deeper dive into Outside
The cast talked about a memorable bridge scene in the movie—a moment that is said to typify the emotional journey of Beauty Gonzalez’s character, Iris.
“It was a very important scene for Iris, the character of Beauty in the film. Iris always felt that she needed to get away from her family problems and internal struggles. In many ways, the bridge is like a metaphor for her, like, ‘[On] the other side of the bridge, lies a different life for me.’ We wanted to symbolize the crossing [to] a different threshold,” Ledesma explained.
In the scene, Iris desperately tried to hack at a barricade with a traditional sword through repeated, irregular strong blows.
Ledesma explained that this moment is more than just physical struggle; it symbolically foreshadows a later, critical moment in the film. When Iris must amputate her son Lucas’s arm after he’s bitten by a zombie—or what they called as “dead one”—the repeated strikes she made to sever his arm mirror her earlier frantic effort to break through the barricade.
For the cast, it was strenuous, not only physically, but also emotionally to act out the story. Sid Lucero, who plays the patriarch Francis, pushed his limits during several intense scenes, did not use a body double and performed his own stunts for the bridge sequence.
Lucero’s approach remained understated, never exaggerated, allowing the audience to feel the weight of his character’s emotional collapse. One memorable scene in the film—a single take across a bridge—saw Lucero stumble while running. It was not a trained move but a raw and authentic reaction under difficult filming conditions, despite the actor’s gymnastics background.
Beauty Gonzalez said was able to connect so deeply with Iris. Being from the countryside, she relied on her own personal memories to help shape some of the struggles of the character.
“It was close to my heart,” Gonzalez said. “I read the script and realized I don’t really need to prepare but trust my director and his direction because the script is really beautifully written.”
Meanwhile, young actor Marco Masa, who plays Josh, the eldest child, reflected about the difficulties he had during the lock-in taping, notably with his education.
“One of the challenges is my school. I have to do my homework, my performance tests away from school. And then, nalayo ako sa family ko. Na-homesick ako, but thankfully, sila ‘yung kasama ko. I am really comfortable with them,” Masa said. (I was away from my family. I felt homesick. But thankfully, I was with the other actors.)
Despite the challenges of lock-in taping, Marco expressed gratitude for the experience, especially in forming a second family with his castmates.
“Gusto ko ihiwalay ‘yung bonding ng family sa work. Nagkaroon ako ng second family,” he explained, emphasizing how the separation and filming in Negros let him to interact more authentically with his role and focus intensely on the character he played. (I want to separate the bonding of family from work. I gained a second family.)
The film also took a lot of pride in its practical effects, shying away from the heavy use of CGI. The crew of Outside was committed to developing a realistic environment, and they used the local talents of Negros, particularly theatre actors, to play the “dead ones” on screen, as well as local production designers to help build the post-apocalyptic world.
Ledesma stressed the importance of keeping the horror grounded, relying on realistic makeup and practical effects to evoke fear without relying on digital shortcuts, saying, “it is very important for me to not call attention to visual effects; I want everything to feel as real,” Ledesma said.
In Outside, the zombies are also depicted differently than in most films. Here, these creatures have a voice, and each one has some sort of history.
“There have been films where we see zombies talk, but I wanted to put a bit more backstory into all the zombies that I had, in the sense that whatever their last memory was before they were bitten is the last words that they say,” Ledesma noted.
Ledesma emphasized his desire to retain some humanity within the zombies, stating, “I didn’t want them just to be mindless monsters. I wanted everyone in this film to still have emotions to still process.”
The family at the heart of horror
At its core, Outside is a deeply human story. Ledesma further emphasized that while zombies might provide the film’s spine-tingling edge, the heart of the narrative is the family’s internal battles.
Inspired by his experiences during the pandemic, Ledesma used the family’s dynamic as a way to explore themes of fear, isolation, and survival.
“COVID happened. All these emotions came in. All my fears and anxieties as a parent suddenly came flowing into the pages. It’s a film about zombies but ultimately, it’s a film about an imperfect family [who] are really trying to do their best. No one here is perfect; no one here is a bad guy. No one here is an evil character,” the director said.
Adding to the significance of the film, Netflix Philippines’ content lead, Vitto Lazatin also weighed in on the importance of Outside not only as a film, but as an endeavor to highlight the stories of Filipino voices and experiences at the global stage.
He highlighted Outside as a step forward in the network’s commitment to Filipino talent, and added that the film will be available in 32 languages worldwide.
“It’s a milestone for us in our ongoing mission to entertain the world. That is really what we’re trying to do, and we’re extremely passionate about it—trying to find the very best Filipino stories and bringing it to this amazing global platform,” Lazatin said.
“Naniniwala kami na ang kuwentong Pinoy ay kakaiba, ang kuwentong Pinoy ay maganda, at ang kuwentong Pinoy ay dapat ipamahagi sa mundo,” Lazatin added. (We believe that Filipino stories are unique, that Filipino stories are beautiful, and that Filipino stories should be shared with the world.)
Outside is now available for streaming globally on Netflix. – Rappler.com
Zulaikha Palma is a Rappler intern studying AB Journalism at the University of Santo Tomas.