The excitement and good will so effectively built up in the first hour are distressingly dissipated thereafter; given the material, the film is&nbs...
Times (UK) December 3, 2021 A typically charismatic performance from Riz Ahmed and a dazzling opening effects sequence won’t be enough to stop most viewers from fee...
Empire Magazine November 30, 2021 While Michael Pearce’s second feature may not deliver quite the same wallop as his debut feature Beast, it demonstrates the same mastery of f...
Does it all work? Not entirely, since it gets unruly and goofy. Still, it’s searing entertainment…
Houston Chronicle December 6, 2021 A drama that walks the fine line between science-fiction alien-invasion terror, a portrait in war-induced paranoia and a story of a broken fam...
Polygon December 13, 2021 If Pearce weren’t so heavy-handed… then Encounter, a flawed sci-fi flick with a simple premise, could be a great adventure fit for...
There’s a thrumming, raw-boned intensity to Ahmed’s Malik and an appealing unforced naturalism in the boys, who register as smart...
Slant Magazine September 20, 2021 In spite of the film’s troublingly naïve take on mental trauma, Riz Ahmed vividly and empathetically captures a man’s wounded soul.
Daily Telegraph December 2, 2021 I kept admiring the craft and really not minding the haphazard journey; it’s a kick, in fact, watching Pearce think fast to make each in...
The Guardian December 5, 2021 An affecting meld of inner and outer worlds in which family stresses and extraterrestrial spectres collide.
Encounter confirms Pearce as a considerable talent.
When the film takes a shift… and it becomes more of a standard coming of age film, it gets a lot duller.
The Guardian September 10, 2021 It all adds up to less than we hoped, though Pearce’s direction is never less than confident.
Financial Times December 2, 2021 If it feels a bad sign to see Octavia Spencer this underused, listen to your instinct. And keep watching the skies.
Los Angeles Times December 1, 2021 "Encounter" has its moments, but it suffers from multiple storytelling approaches that don’t mesh.
Variety September 3, 2021 A familial psychodrama with well-crafted sci-fi elements and a pair of impressive child actors, Michael Pearce’s intense second feature...
RogerEbert.com December 3, 2021 It’s dishonest, showy filmmaking.
RogerEbert.com September 13, 2021 [Riz Ahmed’s] work alone almost makes this worth seeing, but only to imagine the better movie that could have contained it.
In the end, this is a film that hits its marks but fails to step into its own.
Hollywood Reporter September 10, 2021 It’s a surprisingly meaty work that works on several levels at once.
The direction and the script open up the stage musical so much that unknowing audiences may not detect that the source material was a theater piece...
Little White Lies September 13, 2021 Encounter has an interesting premise, but pacing issues result in an overlong feeling, and the film rehashes worrying tropes…
TheWrap September 13, 2021 For a film that tries to be a bravura piece of genre-hopping cinema, "Encounter" too often feels confused rather than assured.
Bloody Disgusting September 12, 2021 It unnerves and impresses in equal measure, building to a surprising and suspenseful sophomore effort that hinges on the magnetic performances...
indieWire December 6, 2021 In an era of, frankly, incredulous credulity where shared delusions are leaping from the screen to your aunt’s Facebook page, and gullibility...
New York Times December 9, 2021 Exactly half of a good movie.