The Outer Threat Review: Bafflingly Undercooked and Somehow Overplayed

The new science fiction thriller The Outer Threat is such a confounding experience because, perhaps for the first time in my career, I cannot tell if the film is convoluted or just plain contrived. The plot is so simplistic and comes across as such a vague, generic plot point that it never goes more than clickbait-deep, which made me wonder if I had missed the overall point entirely. It is like a physicist trying to explain how the universe works to an ant climbing its own hill.

Now, something the world of film criticism never quite explains is how deep-dive essay criticism has been traded for social media clicks. Now, the value is often measured by who can make the snarkiest comment and gain the most viewership. We forget there are independent films that don’t have the backing of major studios. Where time and money are limited. Films like The Outer Threat rely on mood, tone, and atmosphere to compensate for the bells and whistles other storytellers are spoiled with.

What is The Outer Threat about?

Somehow, some way, and in some inexplicable fashion, The Outer Threat fails to create the tension, mystery, and suspense needed to mask the production limitations. The plot is undercooked yet overplayed, and just as uninspired as the surrounding filmmaking, where a film that appeared earlier in the year, Redux Redux, manages to achieve the qualities mentioned above, proving it can be done.

The film follows astrophysicist Daniel (The Copenhagen Test’s Mark O’Brien), who has been an absentee parent and partner to his family. Living on a picturesque piece of farmland, Daniel keeps a secret computer lab hidden in an underground bunker beneath his barn. He’s the type of man who defines himself by his academic achievements, not by what should matter most to him: his family. Even a contact (Murray Furrow of The Boys) who slips his classified information thinks he should move on and go fishing.

Daniel’s partner, Michelle (Fresh Off the Boat’s Constance Wu), is the mother of his son (Predecessor of Phantoms’ Isaac Smelcer-Zhang) and daughter (Callista Crowe), neither of whom would likely refer to Daniel as her ride-or-die. Michelle views her as practically a common-law marriage; they are not married, as a child who needs to let go of his dreams to be present in his family’s lives. Just when he’s about to close the book on that chapter of his life, he makes a groundbreaking extraterrestrial discovery.

The Outer Threat Review

When Daniel shows Michelle his discovery, they are both shaken and elated. However, Michelle knows that if they reveal evidence of extraterrestrial life, their entire world, including their children’s lives, could be shattered. Yet Daniel cannot help himself, emailing his findings to his government contact, which triggers a swarm of aerial drones to descend on their farmland and sends the family on the run.

And that is really the most entertaining part of the movie. From writer-director William Woods, who has spent much of his career producing films such as the hidden gem The Kid Detective, starring Adam Brody, the remaining two acts are stuck in the mud. The script suggests the town is on the brink of some apocalyptic nightmare because the power has been shut off, while another inexplicably random character shows up. The film tries to create paranoia, but the execution is so inert that it becomes hollow.

That character is played by William Fichtner, a performer I adore. A gifted character actor, he gives the best performance in the film, but his role is so brief and, frankly, so out of place that it feels like the closest anyone in the cast comes to creating tension or generating something genuinely interesting. This could have been a turning point for the film, filled with tension and vulnerability, but the scene mostly has Wu repeatedly saying, “Oh, Sam,” as if the script does not know what to do with him.

Is The Outer Threat worth watching?

However, Fichtner (The Dark Knight) delivers a powerful speech in his cameo, hinting at a subtext suggesting that all of humanity is rotten, a theme the film never fully explores. The scene should have generated suspense through isolation, loss of control, and the fragility of civilization. Instead, from that point on, we are treated to a third act that leaves the viewer confused about what this family is fighting against, or even fighting for.

The genre then shifts into something resembling a family adventure film, not so much different as misplaced, as if it were lifted from a better movie and dropped into this one. All of this makes The Outer Threat not worth watching, which is especially disappointing for Wu. So good in Hustlers and Crazy Rich Asians, she still has not found a film that fully suits her comedic gifts and dramatic chops in her post-ABC sitcom days. Her career now needs some real urgency, even if this effort has none.

The Outer Threat is available on Digital Platforms and VOD on Friday, July 10th!

The Outer Threat Review: Bafflingly Undercooked and Somehow Overplayed