Outlier

Directed by Nate Strayer, Outlier follows Jessica Denton’s Olivia Davis as she seeks refuge from a kind stranger (Thomas Cheslek’s Thomas) after escaping from an abusive boyfriend – with complications ensuing once it becomes clear that Cheslek’s mysterious figure might not be quite as harmless as he appears. It’s a familiar setup that’s employed to predominantly underwhelming and flat-out interminable effect by Strayer, as the filmmaker, working from a script written with Jona Doug, delivers a sluggish, amateurish thriller that remains wholeheartedly able to capture the viewer’s interest even fleetingly – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by a continuing emphasis on elements of a decidedly less-than-competent nature. (This is particularly true of the laughably unconvincing dialogue and earnest yet entirely low-rent performances.) There is, as such, little doubt that Outlier often feels much, much longer than its 80 minute running time, especially within the uneventful, spinning-its-wheels midsection, and it’s worth noting, too, that the admittedly unexpected bent of the picture’s final third is hardly able to pack the visceral, exciting punch Strayer is obviously striving for – which, when coupled with a fairly anticlimactic finale, cements Outlier‘s place as a well-intentioned but completely ineffective misfire that wears out its welcome almost immediately.

* out of ****