There's A Zombie Outside (2025)

Having seen a couple of shorts written and directed by Michael Varrati, I was looking forward to this. Although this is Varrati's feature debut, he has made an impact on the horror scene that makes it easy to assume that he already has a handful under his belt (and the amount of TV work he's already managed would help to reinforce that assumption).

There's A Zombie Outside is another film nicely summed up by the title. Ben Baur plays an actor named Adam, and his life starts to fray at the edges when he starts noticing, yes, a zombie outside. Is the zombie really there, or is it a hallucination stemming from an independent horror movie that put Adam and the zombie together in an unexpected way? 

It's difficult for me to find the right way to discuss There's A Zombie Outside. The plot takes a couple of enjoyably interesting turns, there are individual scenes that work really well, and Varrati definitely knows how to deliver independent horror content onscreen with an impressively consistent layer of polish. The zombie is used in the way that zombies so often are, make of that what you will, but the end result is ultimately lacking something. Adam's journey never feels as if it will reach any particular destination, and doesn't even feel as if he's moving for most of the runtime (despite changes of location). It's quite telling that the runtime feels overlong, despite clocking in at 75 minutes.

The fact that this is a film as steeped in a LGBTQ+ gaze as it is steeped in the horror tropes adds another layer to help it stand out from the crowd, and adds a bit more to the weight that Adam is carrying on his shoulders. While there are other characters surrounding our lead, the movie stays very much focused on Adam, his mental state, and where the sightings of the titular zombie could lead him.

Baur does well in the lead role, convincingly on edge as he starts to display behaviour that worries those around him. Phylicia Wissa is also very good, if sadly a bit underused, in the role of the level-headed Taryn, and there are fine performances from Danny Plotner, Ty Chen, William Lott, and Francisco Chacin, as well as an enjoyable came from the wonderful Tiffany Shepis. Having a couple of podcasters played by a couple of podcasters, however, is not something that usually wins me over (although it worked out well for them, as I just decided to check out their podcast).

Varrati is a considerable talent, even if this didn't fully work for me, but due credit must also go to Andrew J. Ceperley, credited here as a producer, composer, cinematographer, editor, and visual effects supervisor. I just wish that everyone had managed to deliver something a bit more impressive and memorable. Varrati clearly has something to say, but I don't think he says it as effectively as he maybe thinks he has. Or it's very possible that I just missed a small Rosetta Stone that would have unlocked the whole thing for me. 

5/10

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