It's difficult to tell exactly what the filmmakers were going for, though. The subject matter is treated very seriously, and much hubbub is made about the three stories being true. They were supposedly based on research conducted by parapsychologist Dr. Jonathan Rankin, but here's the deal: as far as I've been able to ascertain, there WAS no Jonathan Rankin. Apparently the writers of "Encounter" invented him. Still, kudos to them for dressing up this patchwork quilt of urban legends and drive-in exploitation in a halfway-convincing manner. Rod Serling's narration helps (actually, there are two narrators; the other one is uncredited, but he sounds like Lawrence Dobkin). The first story involves a "witch"--the seventh daughter of a seventh son--placing a curse on the young men who were inadvertently responsible for her son's death. The second is based on a little-known Ozark legend about some sort of monster that lives in the bowels of the earth. The third and final tale is a version of the well-worn "Vanishing Hitchhiker" legend. There's not much action, but there are quite a few genuinely creepy moments. The cast features several regulars from exploitation director S.F. Brownrigg's films ("Don't Look In the Basement", "Poor White Trash Part 2"), including Rosie Holotik (who is terrific as the Vanishing Hitchhiker), Gene Ross, and Annabelle Weenick. "Encounter With the Unknown" will look cheap and shoddy to most mainstream viewers, but I think that everyone involved with the film deserves an A for effort. Horror fans will want to give this a look.
