The Outer Threat: Poor Treatment of a Rich Premise

By John Kirk

Rating: C

I personally love stories about potential alien contact.

Given the infinite nature of space, there has to be intelligent life in the universe. And given enough time, we will eventually encounter them.

Improvements in human technology and scientific knowledge also means that we will eventually enhance our abilities to detect intelligent life. These are logical assumptions and the only remaining question is: what will it look like?

In The Outer Threat, we don’t know. And that’s pretty dull.

The premise: when astrophysicist Daniel Ashford (Mark O’Brien) and his partner Michelle (Constance Wu) discover evidence of extraterrestrial life in the solar system, their lives and the lives of their children are put at risk. They become the objects of interest to some mysterious agency and are forced to leave their homes.

For a family whose lives are in danger, the distinct lack of tension in this film is a surprise.

For one thing, Daniel works at home for a CIA-funded operation that scans the night sky using an out-of-date miniature observatory in his plot of land in the woods. His terminal is in an underground bunker while his partner (also an astrophysicist) homeschools their children and teaches them how to hunt. It’s an idyllic living.

When he makes his discovery, he tries to inform his superior, who doesn’t want to know anything about it. He also tries to tell that he is retiring and that he will inform his superiors to keep allowing Daniel to email his reports to assure him and his family a living.

With this, there is no reason for this story to continue. However, the film needs to continue and the reason for Daniel’s decision to reveal his discovery is a weak one.

Still, the reveal of alien existence disappointingly plays very little part in this film. Without going into specifics, the title is a bit of a misdirection. The threat to the Ashford family is not an outer one, it’s actually one on Earth.

By the first 30 minutes of the film, there is little reason for the audience to invest themselves in the story. In fact, even the opposition for the rest of the film is benign. Creepy and disconcerting in some cases, sure, but when you consider that much takes place while the family is on the road, it’s tame.

The tone is forced. In some cases, the Ashford kids, Maddy and Francois (Callista Crowe and Isaac Smelcer-Zhang) either use their superior homeschooled math skills to save the day, or try to figure out basic radio frequency behaviour. At times it’s watching like a TVO educational drama.

The same forced dynamic is present between Daniel and Michelle. Michelle resents Daniel’s job and even though she shares the same profession, she throws herself into homeschooling and raising their family. When she learns that he is responsible for their situation, there are no repercussions.

This film is a bit of a change-up for Constance Wu, best known for from her roles in the sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and Crazy, Rich Asians. She has a rich intensity in her performances and brilliant comedic timing, which are two things that are sorely underused in this film. She’s the talent that stands out in the film but even her skills aren’t enough to save it.

For a science fiction, the only science present in the story is actual science. Astronomy, calculus, basic physical science and we even learn some rudimentary computer science theory. You know, boring stuff. It’s educational, for sure, but it’s hardly exciting.

When I’m watching a film about the discovery of extraterrestrials, I want to know more about the extraterrestrials. This film seems to go out of its way to avoid any mention of the aliens.

So… dull. A weak plot coupled with not enough conflict to warrant any sort of tension. This contributes to little character development and in the end, a resolution that hardly justifies the time investment in seeing the film.

But hey. Learning about science is cool, right?

The Outer Threat. Written and directed by William Woods. Starring Constance Wu, Mark O’Brien, Callista Crowe, Isaac Smelcer-Zhang, Oscar Hsu, Murray Furrow, and William Fichtner. In theatres July 24.