“You can’t keep out what’s already inside.” This ominous line concludes the newly released trailer for Outside, Netflix Philippines’ first zombie feature. Directed by acclaimed TV commercial and content filmmaker Carlo Ledesma, the film promises to deliver a gripping psychological horror experience when it premieres on October 17.

The story follows a family of four led by its unstable patriarch, Francis (Sid Lucero). Together with his wife Iris (Beauty Gonzales) and sons Josh (Marco Masa) and Lucas (Aiden Tyler Patdu), they flee to Francis’s secluded farmhouse in the province to seek refuge and restore some semblance of normalcy back amidst a devastating zombie outbreak.

The trailer opens with a shot of a rundown car marked by a bloody handprint on the window, starkly symbolizing the family’s traumatic journey. It then transitions to scenes of the family attempting to adapt to their new haven, alongside glimpses of Francis’s growing paranoia. The tension builds as the trailer hints at the psychological and emotional struggles the family is about to face.

Speaking at Netflix APAC Southeast Asia Showcase in Indonesia in June, director Carlo emphasized that Outside is more than just a zombie film. For him, it’s a “terrifying psychological thriller” about the struggles of a family caught in the midst of a zombie pandemic. “At its core, it’s a film about a family’s survival,” he adds.

Photo: Netflix

Carlo’s breakthrough in the horror genre came in 2011 with his found-footage film debut The Tunnel, followed by Sunod in 2019 and the horror-comedy short The Kapre. Carlo describes Outside as his most personal project to date, drawing inspiration from his experiences growing up in Negros and his own feelings of isolation during the pandemic, a period when the idea for the film began to take form.

Outside promises to shake up this October with its harrowing tale of survival in a desolate world riddled with more than just the undead. The film stars Sid Lucero, Beauty Gonzales, Marco Masa, and Aiden Patdu, with the special participation of Enchong Dee and Joel Torre.

Watch the trailer here:

Outside premieres globally on October 17, only on Netflix.