A throwback to the idea & character-based sci fi of the 1970s, writer / director Paul J. Salamoff’s ENCOUNTER on the surface seems a near tropish yarn about a young artist who, after losing his daughter and the ability to walk in an accident, regains the power of his legs after a group of friends encounter a small alien “lifeform” / object after it crash lands in a field. Below the surface, however, it quickly becomes more a rift on Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST - as the pod-like being (which we aren’t sure is “good” or “evil”) begins to fulfill the needs - physical and psychological - in the lives of the members of that group, but only … if!
From the amount of fun we had on this one you may find it hard to believe, but we were stone sober. Well, kind of, as we quickly became intoxicated by love of the genre - opening with a mini discussion of 70s era sci fi-ers (among them LOGAN’S RUN and WESTWORLD) which not only continue to creatively inspire us all - and Paul particularly on ENCOUNTER - but the creators of other recent independent “throwback” speculative thrillers like MOON, LOOPER and EX MACHINA. We then move to “mini film school” as Paul details his film’s origin, the assemblage of his cast (including genre faves Luke Hemsworth and Tom Atkins) and the shoot. And, oh, stay tuned after the end credits for a BONUS SECTION SPOILERS SPECIAL for those who’ve seen ENCOUNTER - where we talk Easter Eggs implanted within the film’s final sequence. Yeah, we pack quite a bit into one hour.
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