Review: The Dead Outside (2010)

"Just as good as Romero's latest zombie offering..."

Cast Members of Note- Sandra Louise Douglas, Alton Milne, and Sharon Osdin.

In the long line of viral world-killing epidemics, The Dead Outside is another tale of a world ravaged by evil bacteria. This time though, 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.

Even when dead, they still bleed profusely from the mouth.

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, lets 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.

She has trust issues.

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.

Seriously, this dog's name should be Awesome!

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.

She is the hero, not an infected zombie.

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.

Don't listent  him, shoot!

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.

"I... I don't understand what we're saying either."

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.

Nope. Scottish people apparently do not get naked.

Shoot first, trust later.

Just like that.

there's really 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.

C

She looks like a bundle of joy, doesn't she? Still, there's something cute about her...