ENCOUNTER Trailer

A father tries to save his boys from a mysterious threat in Encounter, the latest from co-writer/director Michael Pearce.

As a soldier, Malik doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with his kids, so at first glance, a road trip with his sons may seem like a healthy bonding opportunity. The problem is Malik hasn’t set out to have fun. Instead, he’s convinced there’s an alien invasion underway and fleeing with his boys is the best way to keep them safe. Now stuck on the road in a life-threatening situation, the whole family is about to learn a lot about each other.

While not making this explicit in the trailer, my guess is the movie will question Malik’s sanity. It would provide a thrilling psychological layer to the story, one that would take this in similar directions as Pearce’s previous film, Beast. That movie was something of a breakout, so it would be unsurprising if he’s sticking to similar ideas but with a flashier cast.

Beast benefited greatly from having Jessie Buckley in the lead role, and I bet the same will be said of Riz Ahmed here. He plays the troubled Malik, through which much of the action and mystery will flow. He’s handled plenty of complicated roles before, so while there’s no doubt he can pull this off, he will need to help our child actors Lucian-River Chauhan and Aditya Geddada, who play his sons.

This movie will likely stay pretty contained, but with a group behind it who’s pulled off taut psychological thrillers before, Encounter might be one to search out.

Encounter is directed by Michael Pearce and stars Riz Ahmed, Lucian-River Chauhan, and Aditya Geddada. It will be released theatrically in the US on December 3rd, 2021 before streaming on Amazon Prime on December 10th.

Will you go on this journey? Let us know in the comments!