Canada. What makes so many of its genre films so different than your run-of-the-mill American nonsense? I wish I knew, but a prime example of that subtle but noticeable approach is producer-turned-director William Woods’ first film, Outer Threat, which tells the story of a possible extraterrestrial contact that changes the lives of a family forever. A pair of unmarried astrophysicists, Michelle and Daniel (Constance Wu and Mark O’Brien), living a quiet, rural life with their two children, make a history-changing discovery simply by tracking signals from distant galaxies. This is not the kind of first-contact story you’re used to. Instead, it’s about the paranoia-fueled firestorm that kicks off the second certain unknown parties get wind of what their cosmic revelation actually is.
Without going into too much detail, the extraterrestrials they have discovered are still very much on their home planet. All the signs and evidence show that this planet has a remarkably similar spatial relationship to a sun and is emitting certain emissions that would lead any reasonable scientist with their knowledge that there is intelligent life there. And while Michelle and Daniel seem to have a strained relationship and only do this type of investigating on the rare occasion from a bunker in their barn, they take the time to rationalize what to do next.
Assuming that no one on Earth is paying any attention to their research, they quickly discover that isn’t true either, and before long the power goes out, broadcast and internet signals go dead, and every citizen is told to shelter in place. Even scarier, a small squadron of drones (the kind used for surveillance) begins to circle their home, forcing them to get out in a hurry. The other type of drones (the kind that delivers bombs) show up soon thereafter. Before long, they are being followed by unmanned cars, and they quickly discover that gas is the rarest of commodities. The one time they stop for food at a diner (run by a sketchy William Fichtner as Sam), someone siphons all the gas in their tank and steals the spare gas in the back of their pickup truck.
A great deal of Outer Threat involves discussions that turn into heated arguments about what to do next and where to go that could possibly be safe. But the more important question becomes whether to send a signal back to the alien planet and risk an aggressive response, or allow the earth to take its chances with whomever is putting the planet on a global timeout as far as access to information and resources. It’s a real debate because neither option is especially appealing in the moment.
This isn’t a film about special effects and alien invasions, but it still might make a nice companion piece to Disclosure Day. This is a small-scale survival story that places the value of science and discovery above all else, while adding a nice paranoid tinge that grows fairly relentless by the time the tale is told. It’s a good-looking film, despite the fact that very little happens. But I admire its big ideas trapped in its little body; I just wish there was a little more substance behind all of the running and driving and yelling.
The film is available on all digital platforms and on VOD.
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