Riz Ahmed’s Intensity Sustains the Deceptive Mystery of ‘Encounter’

Alci Rengifo

These are exceedingly paranoid times and “Encounter” taps right into the spirit in both form and content. It’s the kind of thriller where the audience feels trapped in the same boat with the lead character. Even the genre is unclear. Are we watching a sci-fi thriller or something much more down to earth? Through it all it’s essential we believe in the lead character through the plot maze. Riz Ahmed is more than up to the task with a performance that sustains its edge even when the story threatens to careen out of control. For Ahmed it marks more proof the British Pakistani rapper turned actor is the real thing, capable of carrying different kinds of films with his unique presence.

Ahmed plays Malik Khan, who like many a sci-fi hero, feels alone in rural America threatened by alien presences. The extraterrestrial threat is arriving in the form of a parasitic insect assault where humans become hosts for a spawn that burrows into the bloodstream. Malik, a former Marine, keeps himself coated in bug spray to ward off an attack. He decides to pick up his two sons, adolescent Jay (Lucian-River Chauhan) and the younger Bobby (Aditya Geddada) in order to drive them to safety. As he drives them into the desert, Malik is unaware that others are now searching for him, including Hattie (Octavia Spencer), the parole officer hoping he doesn’t corner himself into a terrible end.

Every year we get so many new variations on alien invasions with slimy creatures, clunky spaceships and CGI fireballs that a change in pace like “Encounter” is welcome. It’s a darker film in the style of something like “K-Pax,” where the heart of the plot is the mystery of how much we can believe about the lead’s claims. Director Michael Pearce opens the film with recognizable sci-fi eeriness, following an alien parasite making its way down someone’s bloodstream. Ever since Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” science fiction has mastered the art of making us fear intruders inside our own bodies. Pearce teases us with shots of Malik driving down late night highways, watching the flash of some celestial object streaking across the sky. Is it alien ships? 

This may not sound like a commentary on modern America, yet it most certainly is. Pearce isn’t hunting after snarling creatures from outer space. “Encounter” is more of an allegory about several mindsets we see all around us. Malik is convinced he has tapped into a secret knowledge everyone else seems to be clueless about. When Jay wonders why the news isn’t reporting on the alien invasion, Malik assures him they’ve all been bought off. Surely there must be some great cover-up at hand. Hattie is convinced this must all be happening because of PTSD Malik has from his time as a soldier in the Middle East. We are a nation of wandering, broken psyches from years of our wars abroad. At times Pearce overplays his hand a bit, as when Malik’s truck breaks down and the only house he finds out in the wilderness belongs to a right-wing militia member, who gives a whole Steve Bannon-style speech instead of simply asking, “Why are you in my house?” After Malik knocks the man out, later on his two sons, also militia members go on the hunt for Malik written with a stereotyped goofiness.

What keeps the intensity really going are the impressive performances. Riz Ahmed’s great screen breakthrough came in 2019’s “Sound of Metal,” where he received an Oscar nomination for playing a metal drummer facing deafness. This year he also starred in the small drama “Mogul Mowgli,” a strong film about a Pakistani British rapper going back to his roots. In “Encounter” he creates a man always on the edge of emotional eruption. Malik is like those zealous true believers in conspiracy theories or apocalyptic prophecies convinced the end is near and nothing will persuade him otherwise. Like Mimi Rogers in “The Rapture,” he’s willing to yank his children out of society to escape what he is absolutely certain is going on. Ahmed is convincing as a trained Marine, but adds a particular level of fear to the role. Lucian-River Chauhan is also a great revelation in this film as a young actor with an astonishing talent. He brings a maturity to the material that matches Ahmed. Aditya Geddada is also a delight as the younger sibling more easily persuaded by what his father is urgently instructing them to do. It’s heartbreaking when all it takes is for Malik to promise his kids they can eat whatever they want. He’s a loving father trying to make the apocalypse feel fun. In terms of representation it’s also refreshing to see a movie portray American characters with South Asian identities bereft of stereotypes.

“Encounter” is that rare thriller where the ending is quite hard to predict. Both its climax and answers to the plot are unconventional. The film never reaches full narrative tightness, especially with the whole militia angle, which feels more like an excuse to throw in a few shootouts in a movie lacking rampaging aliens. But overall the enterprise still works because of its gritty realism. When we’re just spending time with Malik and his sons, they feel real and tragic. Ahmed, Chauhan, Geddada and an underused Octavia Spencer give a human touch to a film that never feels quite alien. It’s about how our own damaged selves can be more dangerous than anything from outer space.

“Encounter” begins streaming Dec. 10 on Amazon Prime Video.