Directed by Michael Pearce, Encounter is a 2021 British sci-fi thriller movie distributed by Amazon Prime Studio. It stars Riz Ahmed in the lead role with Octavia Spencer, Janina Gavankar, Rory Cochrane, Lucian-Rived Chauhan, and Aditya Geddada in the support roles.
In this sci-fi thriller’s plot, a meteor from space hits the Earth and it resides several extraterrestrial species. These are micro-organisms capable of infiltrating the mind of the host and controlling them. Malik finds himself in an unconventional situation and kidnaps his kids to save them. Let’s discuss the Encounter ending explained and break down its last moments.
Encounter Plot
Malik Khan is an ex-marine who is under the delusion that he’s on a secret mission. It is about saving the Earth from extra-terrestrial micro-organisms that infiltrate the host’s body to control their minds. He finds one on the crack of the wall and heads out to see his son.
Malik has two sons, Bobby and Jay and he hasn’t seen them in a while. Their mother Piya and step-father Dylan look after them. To protect his sons, he asks them to come with him so that they don’t get attacked by these species.
In an encounter with a police officer, Malik deduces that he has been infected with the parasite and knocks him down unconscious. Similarly, he tells his kids that his mother too has been infected by one of the parasites.
The kids of course are a bit skeptical about it since it’s only their father who’s able to see these beings. As a case of abduction, the FBI receives information about the situation. They dispatch a team to go after Malik and recover the kids.
Malik’s Delusion
Malik was just imagining these insects or parasites. They were all in his head and one of the reasons for it was his childhood. He was a foster kid and didn’t have a happy childhood. The feelings from childhood got carried forward to his adult life and he suffered from PTSD.
The officer pursuing her, Hattie came to know about these things via Malik’s previous colleague who showed her a few pictures. Turns out, Malik was suffering from tactile hallucinations. He was just overprotective of his kids, hence he imagined this scenario of an alien invasion.
Encounter Ending Explained
Malik drives the kids towards the city and comes across an old cabin to steal a car. However, he confronts an old man who fires a shotgun at him. Malik beats him up, gets his keys, and goes to Las Lunas in the stolen car.
Jay learns about his father lying about the alien invasion. He finds out that he was actually in the prison for the last 2 years. In the hotel room, Bobby gets kidnapped by two sons of the old guy. Malik recovers his son but realizes he is a threat to them.
Malik decides to return the kids to the police and leaves them in the car. The police arrive to retrieve them as well as subdue their father. After some back and forth, Malik decides to give in and gets arrested by the police.
In the end, he is put into a psychotherapy facility to treat his mental illness. After all, there was no alien invasion and it was his mental health that created this scenario. But his care for his children was genuine and both Jay and Bobby know if.
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