THE DEAD OUTSIDE
Sub-Genre- Viral/Zombie
Cast Members of Note- Sandra Louise Douglas, Alton Milne, and Sharon Osdin.
What's it About?- In the long line of viral world-killing epidemics, The Dead Outside is another tale of a world ravaged by evil bacteria. This time, it's the "antidote" that turns the simply infected into stark raving mad viral zombie things, whom are angry, paranoid, and seem to bleed from the mouth a lot.
One of the survivors, Daniel, breaks into a farmhouse owned by another survivor, April, who instead of shooting him like any smart person under these circumstances would, let's him stay. Alone in the middle of the Scottish countryside, the two of them form an alliance rife with mistrust, secrets, and a lot of arguing in thick Scottish accents.
As if April's bitter ranting and piss poor attitude weren't bad enough, another stranger shows up and they let her stay too... which of course is when everything just turns to total shit. Will trusting strangers finally spell the end for April and Daniel? Can they fend off the roaming infected zombies, and make a happy life on the farm together? Will Daniel realize that April is only 16 years old, and he should stop hitting on her? I don't know about any of that, but this dog is really awesome.
The Good- The Dead Outside was interesting. It was moody, dark, and the characters were just likable enough for me to mostly care about what happened to them. The whole "viral zombie" thing is wearing a little thin on me, especially since the movies that fall into that category all tend to walk the same lines, but then again something about that premise also excites me and compels me to watch.
The atmosphere of this movie was nice and dreary, and presented to us in an almost washed out fashion, which adds to the dread of it all. For what it was, it did its job fairly well.
The Bad- When are people in these movies going to stop with the "We have to help them!" and the "We can't just turn them away!" routine. You CAN turn them away, and you should. The more people, the more drama, and the last thing you need in a world gone zombie is a bunch of people with different agendas screwing up the works because you didn't tell them to piss off.
The Downright Horrendous- There were points in this movie at which I had no clue what they were saying. Of course I'm an American, which means I'm lazy and my linguistic skills suck, but the Scottish accent was just a wee bit thick at times.
The Gory- This one is light on the gore, though there is some blood and "zombie" violence to be had if you look close and quick enough.
The Naked- Nope. Scottish people do not get naked.
What did we learn?- Shoot first, trust later.
The Master Says- C (5.5/10) Nothing new to see here but I found myself having a pretty good time watching this one despite the fact. The farm setting was interesting, and it was better than most low budget zombie movies tend to be, but it just lacked that certain "kick" to make me love it. It's worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of zombie flicks, just keep the expectations low and and everything should work out just fine.Final Thoughts- She looks like a bundle of joy, doesn't she? Still, there's something cute about her...
