New to Netflix from today is the Filipino zombie movie, Outside. Written and directed by Carlo Ledesma, the movie stars Sid Lucero, Beauty Gonzalez, Marco Masa, and Aiden Tyler Patdu, and follows the story of a family attempting to survive a zombie outbreak.
In the movie, Francis, his wife Iris, and their two children Josh and Lucas are fighting for their lives. Zombies walk the Earth, and the family are doing their best to avoid being bitten or eaten.
Returning to Francis’ childhood home, a beautiful old farmhouse, the family weigh up their next move. Iris is keen to push on and find other people, while Francis wants to remain at the farm where he believes it is safe.
But the farm isn’t quite the safe place Francis imagines it to be. Returning home unlocks some uncomfortable memories from the past and being landlocked with the family isn’t ideal either.
Zombie movies are tricky things to sell these days. With so many in existence, and the endless cycle of Walking Dead shows telling countless zombie stories on a weekly basis, it is difficult to produce a zombie film which feels fresh.
How do you convince audiences to spend time on your movie when they’ve seen it all before? Well, Outside attempts to hook its audience with some domestic drama in the hope this will get the interest levels up.
Does it? Erm… occasionally, but for the most part not really, no.
While Outside makes decent attempts to offer something a touch more substantial in the story department, to ensure this film isn’t just a rehash of the usual undead schtick, it doesn’t quite work. The story isn’t as strong as it needs to be, nor is it as compelling, and it’s difficult to really become invested when the film spends the majority of its time not doing much.
Outside is also quite a slog. The movie clocks in at close to two-and-a-half hours and it moves at a snail’s pace which doesn’t help.
When the film has occasional moments of action or spectacle the scenes are OK, but they are few and far between. The movie is also not particularly scary or creepy, which robs it of a great deal of its horror.
I appreciate this isn’t really the focus of this particular zombie tale, but a bit more energy, excitement, or scares wouldn’t hurt. Heck, a bit more of something dynamic would do this film the world of good.
The simple thing is, Outside is a bit too slow and uneventful for its own good. It needs energy, a quicker pace, and generally a touch more oomph, and none of this really comes until the final 25 minutes when it takes a very dark turn.
On paper, a domestic-focused zombie film like Outside could be interesting, and I really want to like it, but alas for the majority of its runtime it’s plodding and does nothing for me. I’m not convinced it’ll work for the masses either, and I can’t help but feel it’s a bit of a misfire.
The cast are fine, the picture looks good, and it has occasional moments that work (especially towards the end), but it’s just not that great. Shame.
—
—
Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
It's A Stampede! 
Leave a comment