Encounter

This thriller deliberately misleads audiences into thinking that it’s something that it’s not, and while that decision will undoubtedly irritate some viewers, those who stick with it will be rewarded with an intense and well-acted character-based drama.

Premise: Former US Marine Malik Khan (Riz Ahmed) attempts to rescue his two sons, 10-year-old Jay and 8-year-old Bobby, when he discovers that mind-controlling alien microbes have infested Earth after arriving on meteorites.

Review:

This is a very difficult film to review without addressing mild spoilers, as it’s arguably a spoiler to even discuss what this film is actually about. Therefore, in a break from tradition, this review will include mild spoilers from the start – so look away now if you don’t want to know anything about the plot to Encounter.

Still here? Good. The thing that makes Encounter hard to review without spoilers is that the film’s advertised as being one thing, but it becomes apparent very quickly that it’s actually something else entirely. Namely, while the film is marketed as being a sci-fi thriller about a former US Marine who wants to protect his two young sons from alien mind-controlling microbes, that’s all just a smokescreen, and after spending just a few scenes with him it becomes clear to viewers that Malik Khan (Riz Ahmed) is suffering from paranoid delusions and hallucinations.

“…explores the loving but fractured relationship between Malik Khan & his two sons…”

It seems likely that many viewers may resent this “bait and switch”, given that the film is not at all what it was advertised as being. The feeling that the audience has been lied to may be too much for some viewers to overcome, and if I’m honest, I struggled myself to objectively judge Encounter for what it actually was, rather than what it was advertised as being. But if you can get over the sense of betrayal, there is a lot to enjoy in Encounter, which is why I think it’s actually better going into the film knowing that it isn’t a sci-fi thriller about alien parasites, so you avoid that sense of duplicity.

What Encounter actually is, is a gripping and emotional character-driven drama exploring the loving but fractured relationship between Malik Khan and his two sons. Malik’s paranoid delusions mean that, when he takes his sons on an impromptu road trip through the Nevada desert, he genuinely believes that he’s protecting them from the alien infection that’s being spread by insects. His desperation to keep them “safe” means that he’s willing to go to extreme lengths to protect his family. His sons, meanwhile, are overjoyed at seeing their father for the first time in years when he returns from his overseas deployment, but they soon realise that there’s more to the road trip than they first thought.

“…a sensitive & empathetic exploration of PTSD & mental illness…”

The cast is superb – Riz Ahmed’s performance in particular captures so many different layers to Malik’s character, a man who’s desperate to take care of his children, but who ultimately is in just as much need of care himself. And as someone who’s not normally a fan of child actors, I have to say that both of the children in this film are very naturalistic and believable – Aditya Geddada is appropriately immature as 8-year-old Bobby but without ever feeling forced or contrived, while Lucian-River Chauhan is able to effortlessly convey the weight on the shoulders of 10-year-old Jay.

The film is largely a three-hander between Ahmed, Chauhan and Geddada, but Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer also appears in a supporting role that adds some much needed outside perspective to events. Ultimately, rather than being a sci-fi conspiracy thriller in the vein of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Encounter is actually a sensitive and empathetic exploration of PTSD and mental illness, that has more in common with an episode of Criminal Minds than an episode of The Twilight Zone.

“…a great psychological thriller with some amazing performances…”

At the end of the day, had this film been upfront about what it was, I would probably have gone for a four-star rating – but there’s no escaping that fact that the “bait and switch” did negatively impact my enjoyment of this film. The “disorientation” of realising that you’re not watching what you thought you were watching may have an intentional part of the viewing experience, but to me, this was a case where the joke was on the audience, rather than the audience being in on the joke.

Which is a shame, as Encounter is a great psychological thriller with some amazing performances – it’s just a pity that it felt it had to “trick” audiences into watching it.