Well, I didn't even know about "Beyond the Sky" - aka "Encounter" - prior to getting the chance to sit down and watch it. Normally the Sci-Fi genre is not my first choice of go-to movies, but alien abductions just have something alluring about them. So I gave the movie a chance.

Turns out that I am not wasting my time in doing so, because "Beyond the Sky" actually turned out to be a rather entertaining movie and had an interesting story to tell. I liked how director Fulvio Sestito and writers Rebecca Berrih, Marc Porterfield, Fulvio Sestito and Rob Warren Thomas came up with a storyline that both keeps the audience in the dark, trying to guess and figure out if there is some truth to the happenings or if it is all hoax and make-belief.

There is a good atmosphere to the movie and it feels like you are right there in the midst of the action yourself. So that was a rather enjoyable aspect of the movie. And of course it was set to take place in Roswell, New Mexico, where else could it have been for a movie such as this? Sure, that was a bit corny, but hey it is all part of the charm and the whole mystery that surrounds alien abductions and visits from outer space.

They had a fairly good cast coming together for the movie, and each actually performed quite well and brought their respective character to life on the screen. I was not familiar with the three lead performers; Ryan Carnes - playing Chris Norton, but he performed quite well in this movie. As did Jordan Hinson - playing Emily Reed, and also Claude Duhamel - playing Brent.

It was nice to see the likes of Don Stark - playing Bill Johnson, Peter Stomare - playing Peter Norton and Dee Wallace - playing Lucille, in the movie as well. While their roles were not all that prominent, well Don Stark's character was, then they provided a needed spicy element to the movie with their performances.

While "Beyond the Sky" is a movie that deals with an extraterestial phenomena, it is not a movie that is heavy in its usage with CGI and special effects. And that actually worked out quite well, because the movie was more about suspense, building up tension and atmosphere. But the special effects and CGI that was there was spot on, and really worked so well for the movie.

I was more than genuinely entertained with this movie, and I had somewhat expected it to be a less than mediocre movie experience, perhaps even one of those kind of found-footage movies with shoddy camerawork. Glad it turned out not to be that kind. If you enjoy light Sci-Fi and have an interest in alien abductions, then you should definitely take the time to sit down and watch "Beyond the Sky".

Documentary filmmaker Chris Norton is haunted by his mother's disappearance on his 7th birthday which his father blamed on an alien abduction. He spends his time debunking the alien abduction hoax which he sees as the cause of his family's disintegration. He goes to Roswell, New Mexico with cameraman Brent to do a story about the UFO congress run by Bill Johnson. There are many who claim to be survivors of abductions. One of them is local Emily Reed who claims to have been abducted on her 7th birthday and again on her 14th birthday. Her 21st birthday is approaching and she invites him to witness whatever may come.

The premise and the concept has some intrigue. There could be some better tension. It takes a good step with the missing time but it takes a bad step going with the mystical Indian trope. I don't see the reason for the elaborate scheme although I do like the final alien visit. The acting is passable and the story is meandering.

The original title is "Encounter", I think they should've left it as it defines the story better than "Beyond the sky", the film address both sides of the alien abduction theory, the hoax and the reality, follows a documentary filmmaker "Chris" an his crew who's set out to make a documentary debunking alien abductions stories, he meets a girl "Emily" who claims to be a victim of such and he tries to help her cope with what he believes to be real.

The idea is good for approaching both sides fairly...the real abductions and the conspiracy, the directing was OK yet there was no need for some random rapid shots, the acting and CGI were overall adequate, the ending could've been better as it felt cheesy.