The ratings for Dark Encounter are a bit harsh in my opinion. This movie deserves a higher rating than it actually got. It was entertaining, maybe not with the outcome anybody had expected but is that a bad thing? When I watch a movie in the mystery genre I like to be surprised and that was totally the case with Dark Encounter. The sci-fi in the movie builds a tension, a slow paced suspense building, but suspense nonetheless. Just don't expect high budget CGI's because you'll be disappointed, just enjoy the story, the directing and the acting because those were all good. Good job from writer/director Carl Strathie. For the people that reviewed this with the lowest score possible I suggest you watch more movies so you could recognize the difference between a stinker (there are thousands of those) and a movie with a refreshing and entertaining story.

8-year-old Masie Anderson goes missing in 1982. Her grieving family hold a memorial service for Maisie a year later. Strange and upsetting things occur during the night of said memorial.

Writer/director Carl Strathie relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, takes time to develop the characters, offers a flavorsome evocation of the rural setting, and adroitly crafts an eerie and unsettling atmosphere as well as delivers a few genuinely surprising plot twists. The fine acting from the bang-up cast rates as another substantial asset: Laura Fraser as distraught mother Olivia, Mel Raido as angry dad Ray, Sid Pheonix as the ineffectual Billy, Spike White as moody teen Noah, Grant Masters as the rattled Kenneth Burroughs, Alice Lowe as Olivia's supportive sister Arlene, Nicholas Pinnock as the no-nonsense Sheriff Reese Jordan, and Vincent Regan as the doddery Uncle Morgan. The explanation for Maisie's disappearance proves to be remarkably poignant. A real sleeper.

On 11-17-1982 Maise Anderson goes missing from her Blue Hill home. A year later they hold a vigil for her. As family and friends gather, flare go off. We soon discover that the family got the truck from "Close Encounters..." and the house needs to have the wiring checked. More folks go missing, the town has all seen something.

They spend a lot of time developing bad family relationships. Special effects were satisfactory. The ending was a dud.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.