“The Outside” is part of night 2 of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, which focuses on loners. It tells the story of Stacy (Kate Micucci), a socially awkward bank teller. When Stacy’s co-workers introduce her to the popular and expensive beauty cream Alo Glo at a holiday party, she decides it’s the way to transform herself into someone who can finally fit in.
“I loved the script immediately,” Micucci tells Tudum. “This is like a dream. I can’t believe this is something that I could actually get to do.”
Stacy has an allergic reaction to the cream that gives her a terrible rash. But after using it, she begins seeing the product’s spokesman (Dan Stevens) speak to her directly through her TV, promising that it’ll transform her life if she just keeps using more.
“It’s unclear whether it’s actually happening or whether it’s a figment of her imagination, but she obviously becomes overly obsessed with this product and with everything that it promises,” Stevens tells Tudum.
Director Ana Lily Amirpour previously worked with Stevens when he starred in Legion. She came up with the look for the Alo Glo Man, which required the actor to dye his hair platinum blond — a process that took six hours at a hair salon.
“Dan has a really big presence, and I worshiped him on Legion,” Amirpour tells Tudum. “I feel like he can really go anywhere and do anything. He can be the good guy, he can be the villain, he can be a dreamboat, he can be the monster. With the Alo Glo Man, he’s somewhere between a cult leader and an evangelist.”
Stevens dresses in a dazzling white suit and sits in a bright set, which provides a sharp visual contrast to Stacy’s cozy living room, giving her a glimpse of a very different life.
“Dan is the perfect guy to play this because he’s an incredible actor and he’s very, very beautiful and enticing,” Micucci says. “You see those blue eyes and you’re like, ‘What do you want me to buy?’ ”
While Stacy doesn’t fit in with her co-workers, her devoted husband, Keith (Martin Starr), loves her just the way she is and keeps trying to persuade her to stop worrying what other people think.
“Martin is just a truly wonderful guy and we had so much fun together,” Micucci says. “We’re old friends, so it was a real treat to be able to work with him. I think we really had great chemistry on-screen. Martin’s character is just very lovable, and you only want the best for him, and I think for Stacy too. They’re a really sweet couple together.”
Eventually 🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐Stacy immerses herself into an entire tub of Alo Glo, hoping to get the results she craves. Micucci says the scene was one of the strangest things she’s ever done.
“I thought maybe it’d be like pudding, but it was closer to wet cement and I’m claustrophobic,” Micucci says. “They’re pouring it and it was heavy, but then I have to act like it’s this amazing feeling. I thought, ‘Well, if I get stuck in here, there’s about 50 people that are gonna come get me out of it, so don’t worry, it’ll be fine.’
Amirpour took inspiration from American Psycho, Death Becomes Her and Edward Scissorhands for her episode, which she calls a dark fairy tale. Del Toro chose the script for her and gave her complete creative freedom to make it hers.
“Guillermo is a dear friend of mine,” Amirpour says. “He’s one of the few artists and storytellers that I feel like I can personally relate to where he’s truly matching genres. It’s hard to place what he is exactly, and so he becomes his own category. I feel like I really get him and he really gets me. I stepped into this knowing that he had my back, and that’s the ideal place to be.”
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
