Carlo Ledesma, the 49-year-old director, is back with a vengeance and his return vehicle is no less than the Netflix-produced film Outside, a Black Cap Pictures production shot entirely in Negros Occidental.

What inspired him to create a zombie-infested world? “I am an unabashed fan of such films as Train to Busan, but I always knew my own contribution to the genre was always going to be more intimate and centered within a family unit, where they must grapple with their own issues in order to survive,” muses Carlo. “For me the real horrors of Outside happen in moments at the dining table, where painful truths are peeled off viciously and the poor children are collateral damage.”

Carlo wanted to create a film that deals with the horrors of the monsters within humanity. “At its core it really is a family drama,” remarks the Negrense-Ilonggo filmmaker. “I set out to make a film that asks tough questions like, ‘How far would you go to save the life of your child?’ and to also shine a light, with hope, on something that isn’t quite talked about in our country, which is generational trauma.”

In the film, a family headed by Sid Lucero (Francis) and Beauty Gonzalez (Iris) is trapped inside their ancestral farm, navigating their marital problems against the invasion of the local zombies.

“I do hope that international viewers can watch this film and relate to the themes of family and how important it is for each of us to fix ourselves so that we can be better for our children,” says The Tunnel director.

To manage expectations, Outside is not an action-oriented zombie film but a family drama dealing with generational trauma.

Carlo is proud that he was able to shoot in his home province. “We casted actors from theater groups and from nearby barangays to play our zombies, and they poured everything they had into their first movie experience,” he says. “I hope our time there was an inspiring one for them, and that more actors and filmmakers will emerge from Negros in the near future as a result.”

He is positive that there is an audience who craves for Filipino genre films. “We should all support each other by championing each other’s projects,” says the Saving Sally co-writer. “One of the great plusses of streaming is that it is now so easy for the world to see the stories we have over here.”

With hope, genre filmmakers would generate more opportunities and more funding for their projects.

Netflix Philippines was involved with Outside from the start. They had read the script that Anton Santamaria and Carlo wrote. The streaming company believed in the project so much that they released it as a Netflix Original. “When they told us of their plans to release the film globally, we were excited because that meant our Filipino story was going to be seen by more than just a local audience,” recounts Carlo. “Having met the local Netflix team, I can say that their enthusiasm to seek and produce out-of-the-box stories is exciting. From what I gather they’ve got several new local projects in the works, and I think it’s safe to say the next couple of years are going to be an exciting time for Philippine film.”

Carlo’s direction offering a slow genre thriller is a feat for the local entertainment industry. It landed number one on the Netflix charts in the Philippines, Mexico, the UAE, and Hong Kong. It is also in the Top 10 worldwide.