Encounter with the Unknown (1972)

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(Foreign Titles)

Tagline(s):

An incredible journey into the supernatural.

Nomination Year: 2023

SYNOPSIS:

Billed as "NARRATED BY ROD SERLING," it's more like they took some discarded bits of his recordings and strung them together into a bookend series of cryptic nonsense in this anthology of three supposedly weird tales, which are basically three tired old urban legends padded out into a slow, laughably trite feature-length movie.

The first segment: Some rowdy boys goad a gullible friend into thinking he's going to get laid at a girl's house, but they send him to a random address where the owner accidentally shoots and kills him. The kid's mother suddenly manifests a curse-like power (one presumes) and dooms each of the three yoots to die in three consecutive weeks. And they do. And our soul dies a little each time they have her repeat the curse in the movie...seven times in all...

The second segment: In the days of yesteryear, a kid loses his dog but finds a Bottomless Pit to Hell. Strange noises and steam continually rise from the pit. The whole town's in a tizzy. When the kid's dad gets lowered into the pit, he comes back out totally insane.

The third segment: That hackneyed urban legend of the Girl on the Bridge (or Highway, or Graveyard) that gets picked up as a hitchhiker, only to disappear when the kind motorist reaches her destination. The driver then goes up to the house, only to be told by the person living there some variation of: "Oh, no, not again. Yes, there was a girl. She was my daughter/wife/niece/the previous occupant's fourth cousin, and on the anniversary of her death by auto accident, she hitchhikes from where she died to here, where she lived. She's trying forever to get home." Only this version tells a whole backstory of a couple eloping when tragedy struck, and inserts an insipid song. One wonders why the young man's restless spirit didn't ALSO hang around after the crash. Talk about ghosting someone...

Did I mention the witch-lady's curse?

Bryan Cassidy

Smithee Award Nominations

"Alas, Poor Yorick"
Sorry, Wrong Address! Johnny was told he'd get laid by "Darlene" if he goes to this address...instead, he gets laid out by a granny with a gun. Accidentally, of course, but the delivery is priceless: "...and I certainly don't want to hurt anyone--BANG!"

Directors

Director	Claim to Fame
Harry Thomason	Produced "The Fall Guy" and "Designing Women"; Directed The Day It Came to Earth and Revenge of Bigfoot.

Cast

Actor	Character	Claim to Fame
Rod Serling	Narrator #1	Suave, smoking, and the Master of the Enigmatic, he's known as the creator, voice, and face behind "The Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery."
Fran Franklin	Mrs. Davis	Her only credit, thank goodness. Wonder where she parks her broom these days.
John Cissne	Johnny Davis	Kid who got shot in Encounter with the Unknown.
Gary Brockette	Frank Cameron	Was Percy the Robot in The Ice Pirates, a doctor in Mac and Me, and the Ghost of Mister in The Sleeping Car.
Tom Haywood	Dave Terrell
John Leslie	Randy Powell	Was Rico in The Pickle Goes in the Middle?
Mary Jane Wilson	Mrs. Wilson	The old lady who shot the kid in Encounter with the Unknown.
Robert Ginnaven	Father Duane	Started with Encounter with the Unknown, then went on to about 20 smaller things.
Kevin Bieberly	Jess
Annabelle Weenick	Mother	Was the dialogue director for Attack of the the Eye Creatures, and we all know how great that dialogue was. Was in both versions of The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Charlie Dell	Jonas	Plays meek/mild/weasley parts; Was Prof. E. J. Parsafoot on BOTH "Tarzan and the Super 7" and "Jason of Star Command." Had bit parts in Liar, Liar and Fight Club...but he doesn't talk about it...
Rosie Holotik	Susan	Her career was "regrettably fleeting," according to IMDb.com bio.
Gene Ross	Susan's Father	Reasonably prolific actor, in TV sci-fi and dramas. After paying his dues in schlock like this.


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