Interview: Robert Conway – Director (The Encounter)

 The Encounter, from director Robert Conway, makes contact with DVD and VOD this June.

A camping trip goes horribly wrong in the supernatural thriller starring Clint James and Megan Drust, out June 2 from Uncork’d Entertainment. Things start out normal when Colin Bastrow is camping with his wife and friends but an inexplicable event occurs resulting in Colin being found naked and cold in the forest the next day with no sign of his wife and friends. Colin can’t recount these events initially but they come back to him over time in shocking fashion. Can he remember before the same happens to others?

The Encounter out June 2 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

Please find enclosed the new trailer, stills, and artwork for the spooktacular June release.

How would you like the audience to relate to the film?

Mr. Conway- I just hope they enjoy it! That is always my goal. There is great Sci-fi in it and Horror so I hope people enjoy the film.

There was a great mix of Horror and Gore in the film. How did you approach the actors about the Gore approach?

Mr. Conway – The filming was never really done by the actors, it was a camera operator behind the scenes and the shots were well choreographed so there wasn’t anything that was not safe. There were a lot of long takes and there no cut points for long periods of time. I tried to go for people who had theatre experience so they were used to filming and if you flub a line you just have to move on. Most of my actors have done Horror films before so they are used to it.

How did you choose the cast for THE ENCOUNTER?

Mr. Conway – A lot of the cast including my brother Owen Conway (Trevor), him and I have been making movies our entire life and then Clint James (Collin) and I met on my first film “Redemption” in 2009. We have not worked together since then and we were looking forward to getting a chance to work together on “The Encounter.” Dan Higgins (Duncan) and I worked together on my last film, Exit to Hell starring Kane Hodder. He is a great performer. You know he is the kind of actor that you can give him anything and he can do it. Then there are a few new performers including Megan Drust (Kimberly), Paulina Vallin (Holly). You want diversity because it adds interest and that was just basically your cast. You always want an eclectic cast. I think we accomplished that with a great cast.

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When you are directing a film like “The Encounter,” what goes through your mind?

Mr. Conway- Well, The Encounter was far more difficult than other films. It is incredibly difficult because you do not have the usual tools and coverage to hide things like mistakes or things that you do not want to show and there is no music score that can drown out certain things. It is a lot rawer and you are trying to make things look a little more amateur deliberately but acceptable amateur. It had to be interesting at the same time. It was challenging and it was also kind of like a wilderness shoot. We were in the forest for a couple of weeks shooting a film and it was a difficult experience.

What was the biggest challenge shooting “The Encounter?”

Mr. Conway – The biggest challenge for me was to make sure it was not just a half hour of boring dialogue. I chose to tell it in three different stories. The directing approach was a first for me. I did not want things to get stagnant. It was far more difficult than I thought it would be.

It had to have a real feel to it. It was an interesting process.

As the writer of “The Encounter” did you find it different writing a Sci-fi film versus a Horror film?

Mr. Conway – The great thing about Horror is it is such a diverse genre. Yes! I am a huge Sci-Fi fan, Star Wars, Star Trek and to be able to incorporate some Sci-fi with Horror. The film I am working on now is kind of a supernatural ghost story. It is really great to create stuff that is otherworldly. It is a lot of fun and really cool.

Could you please tell me a little bit about what you are working on next?

Mr. Conway – Yes, I just came off set and we were shooting all night. The working title is The Hunted and it is a supernatural detective story. I like to say it is like “The Ring” meets “Seven.” It is kind of a detective story with a real supernatural, demonic killer. It is something cool and different for me. It is sort of in the ghost genre. I never feel like I am doing the same movie twice. I like diversity in my work and I want to cover a lot of creative ground and I do not want to feel like I am doing the same movie twice.

Do you have any advice for directors and any final thoughts for the readers?

Mr. Conway – For people who are in film school, try to make the most of it. There are a lot of good quality people out there. I would say be careful and be weary of the industry you are stepping into. I wish young film makers would go to law school or take some business classes before they get involved in films. I am very lucky with my Distribution company Uncork’d Entertainment, but there are a lot of unscrupulous people in the business. Young film makers get hurt by that because it is an aggressive and predatory industry and you must be very careful. Try to do a film that is reasonable and do not get too about yourself. Think about the audience. It is like a tree falling in the woods with no one around. If no one sees your film and it doesn’t get distribution, it didn’t happen. I do try and talk to young film makers online and it is a really cool feeling when your movies are being seen by people all over the country and all over the world. We are getting our work out there and that is the important part.

Thank you for your time and “The Encounter” provided just the right amount of terror, creepiness and fright.

Mr. Conway – That is the best compliment you can give a Horror Director!

Just a note: Mr. Conway’s next film will be out by this Christmas.

Follow Robert Conway on Twitter https://twitter.com/RobertMConway