The Outer Threat review: Strong characters power a quiet sci‑fi thriller
‘The Outer Threat’ explores what happens to a family that becomes unexpectedly responsible for humanity after discovering alien life.
Statistically, it’s nearly impossible for alien life not to exist beyond our solar system. The galaxy is immeasurable, and there must be other stars and planets with the right cocktail to create and sustain life. That’s not to say all extraterrestrials are intelligent. But maybe there are other civilizations out there, making different or even better choices than humanity. In The Outer Threat, a family deals with the consequences of discovering life on another planet.
Daniel’s (Mark O’Brien) head is always in the stars. Michelle (Constance Wu) tires of his neglect and their kids, Maddy (Callista Crowe) and Francois (Isaac Smelcer-Zhang), have grown accustom to his absence. But his perseverance may have finally paid off. He’s discovered a Dyson sphere that proves the existence of life on another planet. Michelle, who’s an astrophysicist, confirms Daniel’s findings, reigniting her interest in their work and maybe their relationship. But when Daniel reaches out to their government contractor against Michelle’s wishes, the reaction is immediate. Power and network outages bring the country to a standstill. But who could be responsible for such a fast and widespread response?
Most science fiction films about extraterrestrials focus on the encounter and the miscommunication or conflict that follows. Regardless of the reason the aliens reach out, humans are almost certainly going to screw it up with their natural proclivity for mistrust and hostility. However, this movie takes a different approach. It isolates the experience to a few people and the impact of a planet millions of miles away. The family is very smart, but they’re otherwise average people suddenly confronted with the decision of whether they should contact a distant lifeform on Earth’s behalf.
The catastrophe of their discovery arrives with a whisper, not a bang. With no power or internet, the world doesn’t immediately devolve into chaos. In fact, with a few potentially harmful exceptions, everything winds down without incident. There are no explosive traffic pile ups or planes falling out of the sky. The grid just stops working. Yet, even without the carnage and disaster, it’s the tightknit family’s reaction to danger that draws audiences into the narrative.
It initially takes some time to build a connection between viewers and the characters, imitating the disconnect within the family. The husband-and-wife team used to conduct research together, but Michelle chose to prioritize their family. In the meantime, Daniel secludes himself in a bunker, consumed with the task of monitoring a Cold War-era telescope and driving a wedge in their relationship. He tries to justify his obsession by grasping at the smallest anomalies. But like the boy who cried wolf, when Daniel finally makes a real discovery, no one wants to listen.
As parents, they are still civil and caring in spite of their strained relationship. The couple are able to have rational discussions that don’t turn into screaming matches, even when they disagree. But maybe that’s just the Canadian script.
The sibling love in this picture is also woefully rare. It’s refreshing to see a brother and sister support each other rather than resent the other’s existence. The whole family engages in playful teasing, but nothing they say is mean spirited. And when the adults want to talk seriously, they find actual privacy — not just a room in the house where the kids can eavesdrop.
The source of the muted attack and persistent drone surveillance has many suspects. It could be their own government, a foreign power, aliens or maybe even artificial intelligence. Finding the origin is key to stopping the passive assault. However, writer-director William Woods acknowledges that based on the rapid evolution of technology and world affairs vs. the time it takes to make a movie, the story as it’s presented is already too late to be relevant to current affairs.
Nonetheless, as a survival film it provides a new perspective. There are two approaches to living in this new world. The first is using your own resources and smarts to stay alive. The other is taking advantage of the trust and naivete of the people you encounter. Not everyone is as intellectually equipped as the family to figure their way out of a jam. But their mix of brains and brawn serve them well in this realm of unknown threats.
Wu and O’Brien have great chemistry. They carry on with sincerity, speaking convincingly about science that will go over most people’s heads — including their own, they admit. The family dynamic is key and the four actors interact so naturally together. It gives audiences a positive anchor from which to explore the sci-fi mystery. The small cast is also buoyed by William Fichtner. He has a knack for playing morally corrupt personalities, but the intentions of the paternal diner owner they briefly meet is a little more ambiguous.
The script’s strength is its character development. Audiences gradually learn about the family and their individual assets, which ranges from sharpshooting to technology. Unfortunately, once the big reveal occurs, the simplicity of their solution and the foreshadowing that accompanies it weakens what was generally an interesting story.
Director: William Woods
Starring: Constance Wu, Mark O’Brien and William Fichtner
