News

It seems that one of the newest trends in zombie films is combing the category with other genres, in an effort that allows at least some kind of variation in terms of context. Carlos Ledesma implements this approach in, “Outside” a movie that is both a family drama and a horror/thriller.

Click on the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix

The Abel family, consisting of father Francis, mother Iris, and their two kids, Joshua and Lucas flee a zombie outbreak in the city and arrive in the mansion belonging to Francis’s parents, on a sugarcane plantation. While there, they find his father and a servant having committed suicide after being infected, and the mother being a zombie. Francis is forced to kill his mother, and gradually, the traumas he has suffered in childhood come to the fore. Furthermore, his marital situation is not particularly good either,...

Outside is a 2024 Filipino psychological horror-thriller, directed by Kyle Fermindoza, that delves into the terrifying world of a family trapped both physically and emotionally in the confines of their home during a zombie apocalypse. More than just a story of survival against the undead, the movie is an exploration of generational trauma, domestic abuse, and control dynamics within a family. Starring Sid Lucero as the abusive patriarch Francis Abel, and Beauty Gonzalez as his wife Iris, the film navigates the psychological torment that stems from Francis’ past, his deteriorating mental state, and the devastating impact it has on his family. The supporting cast includes Enchong Dee as Corcuera, a soldier who offers hope for escape, and child actors who deliver strong performances as Francis and Iris’ three children. Outside (2024) has a strange errie atmosphere and an ending that might confuse viewers. In the following article I will take a look at the film in detail.

Netflix's new zombie horror movie has become a global streaming hit. Netflix has been producing original movies since the mid-2010s. Although they take on a variety of genres, they began making horror projects about a year in, with 2016's I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. Their roster has significantly expanded since then to include movies such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Perfection, Apostle, and The Cloverfield Paradox, the Stephen King adaptations Gerald's Game, Mr. Harrigan's Phone, and In the Tall Grass, as well as the Fear Street trilogy and the Babysitter and Bird Box franchises.

Netflix has also dabbled in the zombie genre before, with their most successful feature-length installment in the genre most likely being Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, which spawned the prequel Army of Thieves. On the series side, one of their most popular efforts is the South...

In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, some find solace in family, while others hold fast to the past. Such is the dilemma facing the Abel clan in Carlo Ledesma’s Outside, an unsettling drama that doubles as a survival story amidst a zombie outbreak.

We meet Francis, Iris, and their sons Joshua and Lucas as they seek shelter from the undead hordes overrunning the Philippines. Travel-weary and battle-scarred and clearly harboring long-simmering tensions, the family spots a potential safehaven—an remote farm owned by Francis’ late parents. Yet within these walls lies not only sustenance and protection, but memories better left forgotten for Francis and ghosts that refuse to release their hold on him.

As Francis struggles to maintain a facade of stability, flares of his shadowed past emerge. A dark history of abuse clouds his judgment, twisting his driven acts of guardianship into something chilling. Meanwhile, wife Iris,...

Outside is a fantastic Filipino Netflix original film about a family dealing with the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The film has a minimal number of characters, and they shoulder the narrative and take the audience through the journey of their survival. Their life in a villa turns dark very quickly when they realize no one is coming to save them.

Spoilers Ahead

Francis

Popular Filipino actor Sid Lucero portrays the role of Francis, who is on the run with his wife Iris and two sons, Josh and Lucas, away from their home in the city in the wake of a zombie outbreak that turned many people they knew into the human flesh-eating creatures. Francis is as terrified as his family, and they move up north in the hope the outbreak will not follow them. Francis moves into the villa where he grew up, hoping to reunite with his parents.

Netflix's Outside is a post-apocalyptic horror film centered around the Abel family, and its ensemble boasts a variety of talented actors. The Abel family is composed of Francis, his wife Iris, and their two children, Joshua and Lucas, and the film follows them as they try to flee a zombie outbreak infesting their city. They retreat to Francis's childhood farmhouse, resulting in all sorts of family drama, from uncovered childhood trauma to wild marital issues. By Outside's ending, no character is the same, with the talented cast fully flexing their chops with their dynamic portrayals.

Outside is directed by Carlo Ledesma, a Filipino filmmaker known for his work on low-budget horror films like The Tunnel and Sunod. With its Netflix release as a horror film around the Halloween season, Outside is the director's most prominent movie yet, and it will undoubtedly reach the most expansive audience pool. Most...

This article contains reference to domestic abuse.

The ending of Netflix's zombie horror Outside takes the tired trope of zombies not being the true monsters and applies it to a very dark and personal topic: domestic abuse. Outside follows the struggling Abel family as they return to Francis' (Sid Lucero) childhood home to weather the zombie apocalypse. As it progresses, Iris (Beauty Gonzalez) expresses her desire to leave the house and take their sons, Josh (Marco Masa) and Lucas (Aiden Tyler Patdu) to a military camp. Francis, however, has other ideas, quickly becomes the real source of his family's fear, and turns Outside into one of the best horror movies on Netflix.

In the final act of Outside, Francis' abuse over his family both escalates and begins to unravel. After Corcuera (Enchong Dee) arrives and dispels his lies, Josh leaves the house to find help, Francis locks his family...

When bloody zombies — creepily mouthing the words their human selves once said — gather outside your home, how far are you willing to go to protect your loved ones? Directed by Carlo Ledesma (The Tunnel), the zombie horror film Outside follows a family of four in the Philippines as they attempt to survive an undead outbreak that’s plaguing the country. But the longer they stay holed up in an abandoned house, the threats start coming from inside instead of out. The first-ever Filipino zombie film, starring Sid Lucero, Beauty Gonzalez, and Marco Masa, was co-written by Ledesma and Anton Santamaria (The Tunnel).

“More than anything, Outside is a story about family,” Ledesma told Netflix about the film. “It explores how a family could fall apart, and it played out my worst fears as a father.”

Stream it now.

Check it out at the top of this page.

A zombie...

“Outside,” (2024) the latest Filipino offering on Netflix, is a dense psychological drama set in the quickfire world of the zombie apocalypse. It traverses the familiar grim reality of an apocalypse with a moderate dose of zombie-related dread and wanton violence. What writer-director Carlo Ledesma explores more in his film is the horror of childhood trauma, the festering of which creates a cycle of violence that is more terrible than any of the undead’s actions. The price for such an attempt is the wrath of the fans of zombie films. “Outside” is bereft of pulsating zombie-killing actions that one is accustomed to in such films. Instead, it examines the frailties of human emotions and the ugliness of the very much alive.

The film starts with Francis’s (Sid Lucero) and Iris’ (Beauty Gonzalez) wedding video, earmarking the relationship to be the key subject in the story. Fast forward a few...

“Outside” is a Netflix horror movie written and directed by Carlo Ledesma. It stars Sid Lucero, Beauty Gonzalez, Marco Masa, and James Blanco.

If you were born with an inherent fondness for apocalyptic zombie films, you’ve come to the right place. Unlike the isolated protagonists of these series and movies, you are certainly not alone; there is a legion of fans, and each year the film industry rewards their loyalty with a plethora of series, movies, animations, and books. “Outside” is yet another zombie film, this time hailing from the Philippines and brought to us by Netflix. As you may know, Netflix has made a significant investment in Philippine cinema, particularly excelling in the horror thriller genre with increasingly high-quality productions.

“Outside” is commendable in every aspect: it boasts impressive cinematography, well-developed characters, and a screenplay that skillfully leverages the strengths of its story to construct a compelling zombie thriller.

Outside, the first ever zombie film produced in the Philippines, has revealed its first full trailer.

The Netflix feature, from Filipino director Carlo Ledesma, drops on the streamer on Oct. 17 and, judging by the first proper clip, ramps up the tension and terror in the tropics.

Outside is set in a remote province of the Philippines, an area of small villages, rice paddies and sugar cane fields, and tells the story of a family trying to outrun the zombie outbreak by returning to the father’s childhood farmhouse, fortifying it to keep out “The Dead Ones.”

Though zombies are the key attraction, the film delves deep into issues such as generational trauma and abuse. The film stars Sid Lucero as the troubled father, Beauty Gonzalez as the strong-willed mother and Marco Masa and Aiden Patdu as their terrified sons.

Ledesma has a horror pedigree, and was the filmmaker behind the...

Great horror never gets old. The genre was as alive as ever in 2023, with the year's buzziest titles ranging from the large-scale devastation of "Godzilla Minus One" (yeah, sci-fi monsters bring horror too!) to the gnarly indie frisson of "Talk to Me," from the franchise-galvanizing prowess of "Evil Dead Rise" to the surprising earnestness of "Saw X" (and the whatever-the-heck-that-was of "Infinity Pool"). However, many of the year's best horror offerings did not achieve the levels of buzz generated by the aforementioned flicks.

This list compiles 15 exercises in fear and dread from 2023 which were grossly underrated, in that they received mixed or poor responses from critics and/or audiences. We've honed in on the ones that failed to garner the amount of attention or acclaim that their efforts deserved. Some have a lot in common with each other, and some are wildly different, but all of them are worth watching if you're a horror enthusiast.

Kenneth Dagatan’s latest horror movie, In My Mother’s Skin, premiered at this year’s Sundance Festival and received quite the ovation for being one of those horror movies that just click. Starring Justin Curtis-Smith, Beauty Gonzalez, and Felicity Kyle Napuli, among others, this is a horror movie that might remind you of the 2006 horror Pan’s Labyrinth. Replete with folk horror imagery and themes of a destructive war, here’s a detailed review of the latest Filipino horror movie, In My Mother’s Skin.

Spoilers Ahead

What’s This Movie About?

With the Japanese occupation of the Philippines almost coming to an end towards the end of World War II, a secluded family living amidst the jungles has to suddenly deal with a horrible situation. Romualdo, the husband of Ligaya and father of two kids, is threatened by a Japanese man to hand over the gold that he’s suspected of having stashed at his home,...

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Central Europe’s biggest cinema fest and party, has a reputation for offering up a healthy mix of regional and international films, as well as a mix of serious and fun fare, including some more outlandish and challenging movies.

The festival’s 57th edition, running June 30-July 8 in the Czech spa town, is no different.

Here is THR‘s look at some of the more outlandish and bizarre-sounding films that it will offer up to cineasts and industry insiders from around the globe.

Sisu, Midnight Screenings section

Described as “a survivalist action film stripped down to the bone” on the Karlovy Vary festival website, Sisu features a tired unit of Nazis at the end of the war picking a fight with a lone man, portrayed by Jorma Tommila, in Finland. “Part Western and part ironic Finnish answer” to action flicks starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone,...

Kenneth Dagatan's sophomore feature “In My Mother's Skin” is set in the Philippines during the last months of WWII, following the story of Tala, a young girl (Felicity Kyle Napuli) who strikes a deal with a flesh-eating fairy (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) in exchange for food for herself and her little brother Bayani (James Mavie Estrella), and a remedy for her mother Ligaya (Beauty Gonzalez), who fell sick with a mysterious illness. That this comes with a big price to pay, is no wonder.

“In My Mother's Skin” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival

Dagatan leans on local legends about ghouls to build the plot, adding his specific touch to it with metaphors about the war and its impact on people's urge to survive and protect their closest ones. Written as the script for a short film in 2015 largely inspired by a self-canibalism story in Marina de Van's...

Gory, glittery and irresistibly bleak, In My Mother’s Skin represents a stylish, ripe contribution to the folk-horror canon. Not unlike his acclaimed debut, Ma (2018), Manila-based writer-director Kenneth Dagatan’s second feature revolves around a young person who makes a bargain with a malevolent insectoid forest spirit to help her family — with disastrous consequences.

This time round, Dagatan and his team have added a period frame by setting the story on a rural estate in the Philippines during the final days of World War II, just before the defeat of the occupying Japanese forces. Inevitably, that fascism subtext coupled with the creepy-ancient-being stuff strongly brings Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth to mind, at least to a Western viewer’s eyes. But if you’re going to steal, steal from the best. And there’s plenty that’s fresh, frisky and original here. It’s no surprise the global rights were...

Squelching sounds radiate over a dark screen as we fade in on a humanoid creature chowing down on a victim’s throat. After pulling away and exposing an inhumanly long tongue, the creature begins to gag, vomiting up a small black bird. So begins Kenneth Dagatan‘s In My Mother’s Skin, a horror fairy tale that will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth, but has a much more sinister side in store for audiences who are willing to sit through its more deliberately paced plot machinations.

Set in the Philippines at the end of World War II, In My Mother’s Skin follows the story of Tala (Felicity Kyle Napuli), a 14-year-old daughter of a textile merchant who lives in a war-worn colonial house with her sickly mother Ligaya (Beauty Gonzalez) and younger brother Bayani (James Mavie Estrella). Under suspicion of stealing Japanese gold, Tala’s...

Folklore and horror are often two sides of the same coin. Genre filmmakers the world over have either drawn from or created local myths to jangle the nerves of their audience, from “The Wicker Man” in Britain and “The Blair Witch Project” in America to “La Llorona” in Guatemala and “Kwaidan” in Japan. For the latest evidence, look no further than the Philippines and “In My Mother’s Skin” — already picked up by Amazon ahead of its Sundance Mdnight premiere. Writer-director Kenneth Dagatan’s second feature after 2018’s “Ma” (no relation to the Octavia Spencer picture) takes place in the waning months of World War II, as Japan’s occupation of the Philippines is nearing its (un)merciful end. Though that watershed conflict is mostly confined to the background, the film’s very first line of dialogue makes it clear that political and supernatural horrors shall intermingle: “Did you hear...

Antonio (Ronnie Lazaro), a Filipino comprador for the Japanese Imperial Army, harasses a well-to-do family for the whereabouts of gold bars. He suspects the patriarch, Aldo (Arnold Reyes), a “great merchant importer,” of stealing some from the kōgun (Imperial Army) and hiding them somewhere among their cavernous colonial home or surrounding property. Flanked by two armed Japanese soldiers, Antonio leaves the family with a threatening impression and suggests his patience will wear thinner upon subsequent visits. Left alone, Aldo’s wife Ligaya (Beauty Gonzales) asks her husband whether he took the gold. “I will never do anything to put the family […]

The post “We’re Making Cinema Now, a Universal Language”: Kenneth Dagatan on In My Mother’s Skin first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Antonio (Ronnie Lazaro), a Filipino comprador for the Japanese Imperial Army, harasses a well-to-do family for the whereabouts of gold bars. He suspects the patriarch, Aldo (Arnold Reyes), a “great merchant importer,” of stealing some from the kōgun (Imperial Army) and hiding them somewhere among their cavernous colonial home or surrounding property. Flanked by two armed Japanese soldiers, Antonio leaves the family with a threatening impression and suggests his patience will wear thinner upon subsequent visits. Left alone, Aldo’s wife Ligaya (Beauty Gonzales) asks her husband whether he took the gold. “I will never do anything to put the family […]

The post “We’re Making Cinema Now, a Universal Language”: Kenneth Dagatan on In My Mother’s Skin first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

The first big pickup out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Deadline reports today that Amazon Prime Video has acquired In My Mother’s Skin, a buzzy Filipino horror movie.

Kenneth Dagatan directed the film, which premieres this Friday at Sundance.

Prime Video has acquired global rights.

Deadline notes, “A Q4 drop date in several countries is currently scheduled.”

“Set in 1945 Philippines, at the tail end of World War II, the pic follows the story of Tala, a 14-year-old daughter of a Philippines textile merchant who lives in a war-worn colonial house with her sickly mother Ligaya and younger brother Bayani. When Tala’s father mysteriously leaves once more to barter for his family’s freedom with the Japanese, his family finds themselves alone in their isolated forest mansion, awaiting his return.

“With Ligaya’s condition rapidly deteriorating, Tala seeks out a mysterious fairy who has promised to protect her.

Tagalog-language selection to debut on platform by end of 2023.

Prime Video has picked up worldwide rights to Filipino Sundance Midnight premiere In My Mother’s Skin ahead of Friday night’s world premiere.

Kenneth Dagatan wrote and directed the horror fairytale about a young girl whose duty to protect her dying mother is complicated by her misplaced trust in a bewitching, flesh-eating fairy.

Beauty Gonzalez, Felicity Kyle Napuli, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, James Mavie Estrella, and Angeli Bayani star in the Tagalog-language film – the only entry in this year’s Midnight selection not in the English language.

Prime Video will debut In...

In what reps the first acquisition of this year’s Sundance Film Festival by a streamer, Prime Video is taking global rights to Kenneth Dagatan’s Filipino horror movie In My Mother’s Skin which is premiering in the Midnight section on Friday, Jan. 20. A Q4 drop date in several countries is currently scheduled.

In My Mother’s Skin is the only non-English title playing in this year’s Midnight lineup.

Set in 1945 Philippines, at the tail end of World War II, the pic follows the story of Tala, a 14-year-old daughter of a Philippines textile merchant who lives in a war-worn colonial house with her sickly mother Ligaya and younger brother Bayani. When Tala’s father mysteriously leaves once more to barter for his family’s freedom with the Japanese, his family finds themselves alone in their isolated forest mansion, awaiting his return. With Ligaya’s condition rapidly deteriorating,...

It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since I was last in Park City to enjoy the Sundance Film Festival in person, which is why this writer is beyond thrilled to be headed back to Utah next week to partake in their amazing lineup of films once again. Sundance 2023 officially kicks off on Thursday, January 19th, and will be running through Sunday, January 29th. And while we’re undoubtedly stoked for the fest’s slate of Midnight titles, there are also a handful of genre films playing in other categories that this writer is definitely going to check out during my time at Sundance as well.

In anticipation of our return to Park City next week, here’s a look at 12 different horror, sci-fi, and genre-adjacent films that are playing at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. As usual, Sundance serves as a fantastic kickoff for the festival season,...

Taking place January 19th–29th, the 2023 Sundance Film Festival will spotlight 99 feature films from around the globe, and we have a look at the full list of movies screening in the eclectic and eerie Midnight category, including the world premieres of Brandon Cronenberg's Infinity Pool and Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother’s Skin:

From the Press Release: From horror and comedy to works that defy genre classification, these films will keep you wide awake, even at the most arduous hour. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Fresh, Hereditary, Mandy, Relic, Assassination Nation, and The Babadook.

birth/rebirth / U.S.A. — A single mother and a childless morgue technician are bound together by their relationship to a little girl they have reanimated from the dead. Cast: Marin Ireland, Judy Reyes, A.J. Lister, Breeda Wool. World Premiere. Fiction. Day One

In My Mother’s Skin...

It’s that time of the year again when the Sundance Film Festival shares all of its horror discoveries that we’ll be seeing in the next few years.

Today they announced the comprehensive slate of independent films selected from the fest that will take place January 19–29, 2023, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online across the country January 24–29, 2023.

Bloody Disgusting combed through the entire program this afternoon and pulled out all of the genre films of note, with first-look images and information where available.

What are you most excited to see at Sundance next year?

Midnight: From horror and comedy to works that defy genre classification, these films will keep you wide awake, even at the most arduous hour. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Fresh, Hereditary, Mandy, Relic, Assassination Nation, and The Babadook.

Kenneth Lim Dagatan’s horror thriller In My Mother’s Skin is set to be revealed as the first co-production between the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan.

Scheduled to start filming in mid-June with actress and Instagram star Beauty Gonzalez, the project is set to be announced tomorrow (May 21) by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (Imda) and Film Development Council of the Philippines (Fdcp) at their joint pavilion in the Riviera’s International Village.

The story follows a girl who trusts a flesh-eating fairy to save her dying mother when they are left behind in an isolated mansion, near the...

Prolific Filipino filmmaker Brillante Ma Mendoza steps into the boxing ring with the heartfelt if rather thin drama “Gensan Punch.” Inspired by the true story of Naozumi Tsuchiyama, an amputee who was denied a license to box professionally in Japan and traveled to the Philippines in pursuit of his dreams, “Gensan” lands solid punches for the rights of disabled athletes and excels with its depiction of rigorous training and fierce combat. But we learn very little about the fighter’s life when he’s not wearing gloves. Following its world premiere at Busan, where it shared the Kim Ji-seok Award with Aparna Sen’s “The Rapist”, and its November screening in Tokyo, “Gensan Punch” will launch online as an HBO Asia Original.

With his chiseled features and steely gaze, handsome model-turned-action star Shogen (“Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist”) certainly looks the part as Nao, a boxer from Okinawa who has been...