The Filipino horror drama Outside is set in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies have spread far and wide. But the horror does not stem from the zombie attacks but rather from the sudden shift in the familiar. A family of four, Francis, Iris, Josh, and Lucas, arrived at Francis’ parental home in the suburbs. Their blood-stained car and their messy clothes were a clear indication that they had been through a lot to stay alive. Francis courageously entered the house. He discovered that his father had shot himself after he was bitten by a zombie. Francis grabbed hold of the gun in his father’s hand and also removed the watch he was wearing. As he walked out of the room, he came across his mother. She had turned into a zombie, but she was too weak and could barely move. Francis had no choice but to shoot her. Francis decided his parental home would be their safe haven, and they would stay there until the situation got better. But the house had its secrets, and they were deeply intertwined with Francis’ childhood.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Francis decide against finding help?
Francis tried to make his family feel at home, but it was not as easy for Iris. She was well aware that Francis was abused by his father when he was a child, and he had traumatic memories in the house. But according to Francis, the people who did him wrong were dead, and he believed he had no reason to worry anymore. The kids were happy to have the constant flow of clean water and an endless supply of sugarcane, though at dinner Josh mentioned how most of his friends were making their way to the camp and they must do the same. Francis seemed to be against the idea. He was afraid that they would be attacked again. Not only that, Francis and Iris’s strained marriage had impacted his decision. Iris had wanted to leave Francis before the zombie madness began, but he had proved to be a protective husband and a reliable father throughout the zombie outbreak, and Iris considered giving him a chance. She had convinced him that it was important that they try to find help outside since they were already low on supplies.
The next day the family drove in the direction the camp was supposed to be, but Francis had to pull the brake when he saw dead bodies and cars blocking the bridge. But Iris refused to give up. She bravely stepped out of the car to remove the obstacles, and all of a sudden the zombies reacted to the noise and smell. Francis jumped in to protect Iris, and they had to leave their car behind and run for their lives. Francis later walked to the bridge to bring back his car, but he changed his mind. He realized that as long as they had the car, his family would pressure him to drive to the camp. Francis had assumed that as soon as they would reach the camp or when things would go back to normal, Iris would leave him, and this was his desperate attempt to keep his family together. Iris had been romantically involved with Francis’ elder brother, Diego. When Josh mentioned that he had overheard his mother and uncle discuss that they must head north, Francis got scared. He feared that if they headed north, his family would fall apart, and he became all the more desperate to be the one in control.
Why was Francis acting differently?
Francis had turned into his dominating father without even realizing it. He had started to believe that the outside world would only ruin them, and the only way the four of them could be together was by staying locked up in the house. Francis was not thinking about his family; they were clearly afraid of him, and they were tired and frustrated living inside the house all the time. They wanted to connect with the world outside, but Francis made sure that they remained unsuccessful. He believed, as the head of the family, he would decide how they would deal with the crisis. Francis was replicating his father’s method of torture—locking up his family and punishing them if they dared to question his ways. When Josh tried to convince his father to drive to the camp, Francis handed him a gun and intimidated him. He repeatedly screamed and shouted at Josh until he shot the target. But Francis had no idea that he had invited trouble. The sound of the gunshots resulted in zombies coming in their direction.
The family locked themselves in the house, and Iris begged Francis to come up with a solution. But instead, Francis gave up. Thankfully, Diego was in the area, and he distracted the zombies and tackled them singlehandedly. The incident should have been a lesson for Francis—it was obvious that they were unsafe in the house and they needed to find a better solution. But Francis refused to accept it. The next day, when he met Diego by the river, his brother explained that he had stopped by to meet his parents one last time. Diego’s wife and son were infected, and he was on his way to the safe camp. Diego’s relationship with his parents hadn’t been as messed up. Francis called him the ‘golden boy,’ hinting at the possibility that he was always compared with Diego and he was expected to excel always. Diego suggested Francis move to the camp with his family. The place was already dead, and they were low on supplies; it was impossible to last long. Diego clarified that he did not come to the house to meet his parents but to help Francis. He felt guilty for his past mistakes, and he hoped that his brother would let him help. But Francis refused to allow Diego to come anywhere near his family. He pointed his gun at Diego and asked him to leave. Before he left, Diego handed him a map to the camp. Francis’ first instinct was to burn it, but he ultimately decided to keep it.
Why did Josh run away?
As a teenager, Josh missed his social life. He could not contact his girlfriend; he was out of touch with his friends, and his father always seemed to be disappointed in him. As much as he was grateful to be alive, he also wanted to live, and he could not do that within the four walls of his grandparents’ home. As time passed by, Josh and Iris realized that the zombies were getting weak. They could easily outrun them and kill them. Francis freaked out when he heard Iris telling Lucas that soon they would be free to step out of their house again. So, Francis walked to the sugarcane farm and killed a zombie, who was already weak, to prove to his family that the threat was not yet over. When Josh walked into Francis’ room looking for Lucas, he noticed the map in his father’s belongings. That evening Francis decided to celebrate Christmas in September, and when he asked his children to tell him what they wanted as presents, Josh did not hesitate to ask for the map from him. Francis pretended not to know what Josh was talking about, and he promised that he would gift his son a map next Christmas.
Francis stated that all he wanted for Christmas was another child from Iris. His wife was traumatized. Iris reminded him that they did not have food to eat, they were under constant threat, and they had forgotten what it was to live, but none of these were good enough reasons for Francis. He was so disappointed in Iris that he decided to tell his children how their mother planned on leaving them. Iris begged Josh and Lucas to not listen to their father. She wanted to leave not because she hated her children but because she was not happy with Francis. Iris did not expect Francis to stoop so low. Francis was convinced that the only reason Iris wanted to leave was to find Diego or simply to run away from him. When Francis pressurized Iris to tell their children about the man she had an affair with, Iris lost her cool. She reminded Francis that she wanted to leave him, and that was all the reason she needed. During their argument, Francis had addressed Josh as a ‘bastard,’ confirming he was not Francis’ son, and that was all the more reason why he never appreciated Josh. Later that night, Josh walked to his mother’s room and told her he was leaving. Iris wanted him to know that he was Diego’s son, but Josh had figured it out quite some time back. He wanted to take the risk to find out what was going on in the world, and he could no longer imagine staying confined within the four walls of the house. Iris did not stop him, and Josh left.
What happened to Francis, Josh, Lucas, and Iris?
That night, a stranger had come to Francis’ house begging for help. As it turned out, Diego had sent him there after he and his team were attacked by zombies. Iris was surprised to find out that Diego was still alive when the stranger last met him because Francis had led her to believe that he was killed trying to protect Francis and his family from zombies. While Francis was against helping the stranger, Iris refused to listen to him and dressed the stranger’s wound. Francis had him sleep in the basement because he suspected the man was infected. The next morning, when Francis realized that Josh had left, he lost control of himself. Francis killed the stranger with a hammer and locked Iris and Lucas in the basement. He feared that they too would leave him just like Josh did. He blamed the stranger for showing them a ray of hope, and therefore he thought killing the man was justified. Francis had turned completely insane. He hunted a dog and tried to feed his wife and son the meat. Francis was no longer the man Iris knew. His desperation to keep everything together was visible, but he failed to realize that he had massively failed. Iris and Lucas came up with a plan to trap Francis in the basement, and they managed to run out.
During Outside’s ending, when Iris and Lucas were finally about to leave the cursed house, they saw Diego in the driveway. He had turned into a zombie, and Iris was visibly heartbroken to see his condition. She tried to stop him, but he was too powerful. By the time she managed to stop him, Francis escaped from the basement, and he punched Diego and crushed his skull. Francis thought Iris was the reason why his family had fallen apart and he was about to kill her, but just then Lucas cried for help. They discovered that Lucas had been bitten. While Iris showed courage and strength by coming up with a solution, Francis gave up. He had always been a weak, insecure man, and when challenges were thrown at him, he struggled to keep himself together. Iris was a nurse, and she used her knowledge to stop the virus from infecting Lucas. She chopped off Lucas’ arm, and the little boy was brave enough to survive the pain. Francis finally listened to Iris when she begged him to search for help to admit Lucas to a hospital. He ended up at the bridge, and he ran into Josh. The teenager had a gun in his hand, and before his father could say much, he shot him. It pained Josh to kill his father, but he knew that his family would never be free otherwise.
In Outside’s ending, before taking his final breath, Francis addressed Josh as his son, underscoring that Francis never despised him; it was the house, Francis’ memories of his father, and his childhood trauma that turned him into a cruel man. Iris and Lucas had given up hope, but when they saw the lights of an approaching car, they knew help was here. We can only hope that Iris, Lucas, and Josh found help and they managed to reach the camp. Even if they survive, the memory of that old house will continue to haunt them forever.
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