Final Rating: 2/5
William Woods’ directorial debut, The Outer Threat, follows a family of four after the parents discover evidence of extraterrestrial life. This revelation coincides with hostile drones and faulty wireless networks as the family is forced to flee their home. Their journey is fraught with danger and the underlying question of whether sharing their discovery was the right thing to do or not.
Daniel (Mark O’Brien) and Michelle (Constance Wu) have been involved in astrophysics for, seemingly, their whole adult lives. Of late, Michelle has been losing interest in the pursuit of extraterrestrial life, much to Daniel’s chagrin. But when they’re both a little drunk and he starts sharing his latest findings, the two of them jump into action. They confirm his suspicions that a distant planet with all the requisite conditions to foster life has abnormal energy fluctuations–a strong indicator of life on that planet. It’s a miraculous realization sure to change the course of humanity.
What Woods’ films does well is lay the groundwork for an effective science fiction story aiming to test human bonds against professional notoriety. Even before Daniel’s discovery, there’s friction between him and Michelle. He leaves their two children (Callista Crowe & Isaac Smelcer-Zhang) at an arcade to go meet up with his supervisor, who appears to have stopped taking Daniel seriously quite some time ago. Their family’s future already feels like a question mark. Michelle is rightfully concerned about what throwing the world into this kind of turmoil–with them at the center of it–could mean.
Daniel wastes no time sharing their findings without considering the ramifications. Immediately, their secluded farmhouse is beset upon by drones. Their cell phones stop working. The wireless networks go down. The traffic lights go out. The film quickly switches gears from its initial dramatic nature to a far more heightened situation.
The latter hour or so brings to mind Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds: the main characters on the run from a variety of adversaries with very little time to catch their breath. Worlds’ combat-ready Tim Robbins can be replaced with Threat’s protective grandfather William Fichtner. Both accept the protagonists into their home for a short period of time. However, Sam (Fichtner) and his granddaughter aren’t able to merge the film’s internal drama with the adrenaline of being on the run in a cohesive way. The underlying threat is more bark than bite while the conflict is too focused on Michelle.
The farther Daniel, Michelle, and their kids travel from home, the farther the film drifts away from its initial premise. Anyone who has seen Spielberg’s more recent alien film, Disclosure Day, will be able to draw parallels between the two. Both films feature action sequences that distract their main characters (to varying degrees) from moments that worked so well earlier on. Woods’ film takes multiple detours before it finally returns to where it started and tries to answer the question posed at the start.
On a technical level, The Outer Threat never feels like its reach exceeds its grasp. The visuals, production, sound, and editing all work in service of the film. None of these elements quite stand out, but they also don’t drag things down. The primary source of cinematic friction stems from the incongruous plot and–by extension–tone. The result is a movie that feels like a thrilling chase has been smooshed inside of a science fiction drama without enough focus or care given to either side.
A film that committed more to the dramatic side would have been more compelling and gotten to intimately explore the best parts of the movie that Woods ultimately made. Wu and O’Brien play off each other well. The supporting cast–especially Fichtner–are spirited in their roles, but can’t keep The Outer Threat on the rails from start to finish.
Thank you to Quiver and Brigade Marketing for the screener.
