Bad news for anyone wanting to film a full-length parody of a Lifetime Network movie- the makers of A Deadly Encounter have already done it, albeit unintentionally. All of the Lifetime tropes are there- a divorced mother in peril from a deranged stalker, an unreliable ex-husband (who, of course, cheated on her while they were married), and a police department that patronizingly dismisses her complaints, forcing her to Stand Up For Herself. Especially jaw-dropping is the scene where the heroine, after enduring a break-in and the attempted murder of her mother by her seemingly ubiquitous stalker, decides to relieve the stress by going shopping! Having seen first hand the harassment of a co-worker by some creep she met at church, I know stalking is not a joke, but it certainly is in this movie.
18 Reviews
Not Bad - Until the Ending
Stoshie29 August 2020
This was a reasonably good movie until the very ending. What happens then was absurdly unrealistic and physically impossible. It ruined the film for me, took me right out of it. Something similar could have been accomplished without the need to go to that extreme. I had to take 3 stars away from the movie just because of that. I can suspend disbelief quite easily, but that ending just made me shake my head.
There were other aspects to the movie that one could quibble about, too. But the ending was just so over the top it superseded anything that came before. As I said, it took me out of the movie, since the ending was just ridiculous.
Too bad; this was a decent thriller up to that point.
There were other aspects to the movie that one could quibble about, too. But the ending was just so over the top it superseded anything that came before. As I said, it took me out of the movie, since the ending was just ridiculous.
Too bad; this was a decent thriller up to that point.
disappointing film after a good premise
veronicammartin24 April 2014
Settling down with a cuppa for an afternoon film, the idea of a single mum being stalked by a loony driver seemed quite entertaining. How wrong I was! The single mum who works nights is run off the road by a man furious at a driving mistake she made on the road. But because her phone number is in the car window he can track her down! Therein follows a ridiculous trail of events, totally unrealistic things in the circumstances e.g. leaving her child alone ( who is never allowed to be alone )in a motel to order pizza very late at night whilst she goes to see her ex husband hoping for a reconciliation. The sex scene here was totally unnecessary to the plot of the film.
The ending was just silly! And there is a very obvious time goof in that she leaves the motel at night and gets out of the car in the daylight.
The ending was just silly! And there is a very obvious time goof in that she leaves the motel at night and gets out of the car in the daylight.
Bad, bad and really bad! **SPOILERS**
duesouth142021 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Warning: This may contain SPOILERS!!
First of all I watch a lot Lifetime movies and realize they are just that....Lifetime movies. Some are great (really), some are good and some are bad. Unfortunately this movie falls into the latter category. It actually started out with some potential....single, divorced hard working mom (who gets out of work at 2:00 AM) cuts a guy off while driving home from work and let's just say he doesn't take it too well. The stalking begins immediately with phone call hang ups and escalates to her home being broken into and completely trashed. So she goes to her mother's for the night and the next morning her mother's car blows up. This seems to be just a pain in the butt for our heroine who deals with it by going underwear and jewelry shopping!!! So the police put her and her son in a local motel for safe keeping and what does Mom do? She goes off to work leaving the kid all alone at night in a strange motel room and tells him to order a PIZZA!!! I couldn't believe it! Then it really gets stupid! And the ending just made me angry because it was so ridiculous and typical. Too bad because it seemed to have possibilities.
First of all I watch a lot Lifetime movies and realize they are just that....Lifetime movies. Some are great (really), some are good and some are bad. Unfortunately this movie falls into the latter category. It actually started out with some potential....single, divorced hard working mom (who gets out of work at 2:00 AM) cuts a guy off while driving home from work and let's just say he doesn't take it too well. The stalking begins immediately with phone call hang ups and escalates to her home being broken into and completely trashed. So she goes to her mother's for the night and the next morning her mother's car blows up. This seems to be just a pain in the butt for our heroine who deals with it by going underwear and jewelry shopping!!! So the police put her and her son in a local motel for safe keeping and what does Mom do? She goes off to work leaving the kid all alone at night in a strange motel room and tells him to order a PIZZA!!! I couldn't believe it! Then it really gets stupid! And the ending just made me angry because it was so ridiculous and typical. Too bad because it seemed to have possibilities.
What a stupid movie
LtlHippo25 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
OK, so she doesn't have caller ID. When you are being stalked, you GET IT! And no cell phone? When you are being stalked, you GET ONE if you are one of the few full time working parents that is the head of the household that doesn't own one already. This mom gets a big ZERO in the parenting department. So her mom is in the hospital and she decides a shopping trip will help her out. Just a stupid movie. Glad I have Tivo and a FF button on the remote.And what is with the 10 line minimum, I just don't have that much to say about such a bad movie. I guess I can ask why she keeps opening packages that she has no clue who they are from. The son really didn't add much to the movie either. The cops were a big ol zero too. Now get to the nearest Verizon and get the darn cell phone. @@
Really stupid movie
geoffox-766-41846711 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Okay here's the story - a stupid woman cuts off a car on busy highway and then kills the driver. The end.
Are we really supposed to have any sympathy for her? I think not! She is also stalking her ex-husband. By stalking is going to his home, long after their divorce and then making him feel bad because he's moving on with his life and she isn't. He is in his own home with a young woman making love. I felt no sympathy for her barging into is house late at night uninvited and then leaving in a huff. I felt bad for him. She also gets her mother involved in a car explosion. She also makes no attempt to allow her son and his father to get together. She accuses a complete stranger of being her stalker, is proved wrong, and does nothing to apologize for the mistake.
Again, we're supposed to have sympathy for her? I did not. In fact I also thought her son was an obnoxious brat and that they deserved each other.
I liked the mother and Daniel Magder, as the husband, as best in the film and most honest in their interpretation. The kid was just plain awful and the leading lady, Laura Leighton, just as bad. Whether my judgment is because of the role or the fact that she never showed a sign of any honesty in her performance. Cold all the way through and she was in the wrong. And the only killer in this. Her look at the end, which was really a laugh, with her son, proves my point. Close up of them without an expression of any kind.
Not worth any price of admission or time.
Are we really supposed to have any sympathy for her? I think not! She is also stalking her ex-husband. By stalking is going to his home, long after their divorce and then making him feel bad because he's moving on with his life and she isn't. He is in his own home with a young woman making love. I felt no sympathy for her barging into is house late at night uninvited and then leaving in a huff. I felt bad for him. She also gets her mother involved in a car explosion. She also makes no attempt to allow her son and his father to get together. She accuses a complete stranger of being her stalker, is proved wrong, and does nothing to apologize for the mistake.
Again, we're supposed to have sympathy for her? I did not. In fact I also thought her son was an obnoxious brat and that they deserved each other.
I liked the mother and Daniel Magder, as the husband, as best in the film and most honest in their interpretation. The kid was just plain awful and the leading lady, Laura Leighton, just as bad. Whether my judgment is because of the role or the fact that she never showed a sign of any honesty in her performance. Cold all the way through and she was in the wrong. And the only killer in this. Her look at the end, which was really a laugh, with her son, proves my point. Close up of them without an expression of any kind.
Not worth any price of admission or time.
Stalker film hurt by poor motivation and stupidity of main characters...
Doylenf22 April 2011
A DEADLY ENCOUNTER promises to be a good story of a male driver (ALAIN GOULEM) harassing a woman (LAURA LEIGHTON) whose accidental cut-off in traffic causes him to go berserk.
The opening sequence on a highway at night is well directed and manages some taut suspense. But as soon as the script delves into showing us the predicament of the foolish woman who cares a great deal about protecting herself and her son from further harm, the story goes off the deep end because none of the plotting is believable or makes any sense. It's no help that Leighton's character makes a lot of foolish mistakes.
Especially unbelievable is the ending both in the manner the outcome is reached in a cat-and-mouse game and then a blazing over-the-top shootout with the predator. His motivation is simply "You cut me off!" which is all we ever learn about him.
The acting is competent enough but the story is watchable for the first fifteen minutes before abruptly changing to implausible the rest of the way.
The opening sequence on a highway at night is well directed and manages some taut suspense. But as soon as the script delves into showing us the predicament of the foolish woman who cares a great deal about protecting herself and her son from further harm, the story goes off the deep end because none of the plotting is believable or makes any sense. It's no help that Leighton's character makes a lot of foolish mistakes.
Especially unbelievable is the ending both in the manner the outcome is reached in a cat-and-mouse game and then a blazing over-the-top shootout with the predator. His motivation is simply "You cut me off!" which is all we ever learn about him.
The acting is competent enough but the story is watchable for the first fifteen minutes before abruptly changing to implausible the rest of the way.
Beyond Awful
Kay77723 September 2017
The female lead was stiff and wooden and the ex-husband was not engaging in the least. The lead's friend had all the talent you'd expect to find in a middle-school theatrical production. The lead's mother was not even in it; she looked more like a producer's assistant running lines with the lead rather than someone actually acting. Within ten minutes, I was rooting for the bad guy. It was so bad that I ended up reading a package insert from a box of sinus pills I found in the drawer of the nightstand. The possible side effects were a lot scarier than this movie.
Drags on...and on...and on...
wendygsullivan21 April 2019
Laura Leighton is the movie's only saving grace. Aside from her solid performance, this was 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
Clichéd plot from beginning to end. Newly divorced parents attempting to co-parent, mother struggling to work and take care of her tween son, stalker who always seems to elude capture and all traps. The script utilized every horror 101 cliché possible.
A hard no on this one.
Clichéd plot from beginning to end. Newly divorced parents attempting to co-parent, mother struggling to work and take care of her tween son, stalker who always seems to elude capture and all traps. The script utilized every horror 101 cliché possible.
A hard no on this one.
Interesting Premise
Anthobuzz8 October 2004
Pulling in 2.6 million viewers, one has to wonder what everyone's opinions on the storyline/plot is.
Reading the run down over at lifetime, I was led to believe that this would be an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a single mother being stalked and finally confronting the stalker. Sadly I was mistaken. While the main plot is interesting enough - Single mother run off road one night, then is stalked by same guy, the reasoning behind the stalking left nothing but a really bad taste in my mouth.
Laura Leighton plays the victim, and she does it well. Whether it was all those years on Melrose Place or not, she does well in this movie, playing a mother who would do anything to protect her son from harm, and she's looking pretty good too these days.
Leighton is really the only good thing about this movie. I think many people will identify with the main character, after discovering why the stalker is stalking, it will be a view-only-once type of movie.
Reading the run down over at lifetime, I was led to believe that this would be an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a single mother being stalked and finally confronting the stalker. Sadly I was mistaken. While the main plot is interesting enough - Single mother run off road one night, then is stalked by same guy, the reasoning behind the stalking left nothing but a really bad taste in my mouth.
Laura Leighton plays the victim, and she does it well. Whether it was all those years on Melrose Place or not, she does well in this movie, playing a mother who would do anything to protect her son from harm, and she's looking pretty good too these days.
Leighton is really the only good thing about this movie. I think many people will identify with the main character, after discovering why the stalker is stalking, it will be a view-only-once type of movie.
Boy did she ever p*** off the wrong guy!
deedrala4 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
As this movie kept getting dumber and stupider, my finger hovered over the stop button to stop and delete it from my DVR, but I was too curious about the end to give up on it. It turned out to be a big climactic ending (as opposed to the vague unsatisfying fizzle-out endings that are all too prevalent in Lifefime movies), but still incredibly stupid.
They should have titled this movie "Stupid Movie to Avoid At All Costs".
First, the single mom somehow forgot to look before changing lanes, on the dark rainy highway, so she cut off and almost hit the SUV in the next lane. They both pulled over and she got out of her car and walked toward the SUV, apologizing profusely and asking if they were alright. The driver ignored her and never spoke, and she got back in her car and went home, with him harassing her on the highway causing her to be afraid and upset while dodging his attempts at making her wreck her car. Little did she know or ever dream that she now had a hell-bent vengeful enemy who behaved from then on as if she had purposely gone out of her way to try to kill him and his loved ones in the most torturous deaths possible. Bad senseless premise from the get-go.
Throughout the rest of the movie, she's "punished" by the psycho with late night phone calls, trashed house, flat tire, ominous gifts such as flowers with enclosed "R.I.P." card and bloody lingerie with accompanying butcher knife, and attempted murder of her mother, all leading up to the kidnapping of her son as the final straw. The detectives working her case had put her and her son in a motel room for safety, assuring her they were safe because no one else knew they were there and all her phones were being monitored. Which then led her to feel SO safe that she not only left her son alone late at night while she worked her shift, but to also go to her ex-husband's house to tell him she wanted him back.
Of course he was in bed with another woman which left her with egg on her face but was soon forgotten when she finally returned to the hotel room and discovered her son was gone. On cue, the psycho called her (I thought the police were watching her, her hotel room, and her phones??) and demanded she follow his instructions to get her son back. (This, after she had felt confident he finally decided to leave her alone because, as she told anyone who would listen: "He doesnt call anymore so he's finally gone." Same skewed faulty thinking that led her to call the cops on an innocent guy at the night club she worked in because she was sure he was the psycho stalker. And she didn't even feel bad enough about her stupid mistake to apologize to him for it - just gave him another dirty look. She was so sure her stalker was gone when he stopped calling her that she went out for a cheery little shopping trip with her best friend while her mom was recuperating in hospital from the attempted murder - the same best friend who unthinkingly gave the stalker the stalkee's new cell phone number when he asked for it under the guise of pretending to be a detective working the case.)
He made her follow him out to the middle of nowhere to get her alone so he could make her understand how horrible she had been to cut him off on the highway. That was it...that was the only reason he had been tormenting her for weeks. He ordered her to apologize like she really meant it - which she had already done numerous times back when the incident happened.
That's it? That was his motive all along?? LAME. And stupid.
2 out of 10 / Grade D-
They should have titled this movie "Stupid Movie to Avoid At All Costs".
First, the single mom somehow forgot to look before changing lanes, on the dark rainy highway, so she cut off and almost hit the SUV in the next lane. They both pulled over and she got out of her car and walked toward the SUV, apologizing profusely and asking if they were alright. The driver ignored her and never spoke, and she got back in her car and went home, with him harassing her on the highway causing her to be afraid and upset while dodging his attempts at making her wreck her car. Little did she know or ever dream that she now had a hell-bent vengeful enemy who behaved from then on as if she had purposely gone out of her way to try to kill him and his loved ones in the most torturous deaths possible. Bad senseless premise from the get-go.
Throughout the rest of the movie, she's "punished" by the psycho with late night phone calls, trashed house, flat tire, ominous gifts such as flowers with enclosed "R.I.P." card and bloody lingerie with accompanying butcher knife, and attempted murder of her mother, all leading up to the kidnapping of her son as the final straw. The detectives working her case had put her and her son in a motel room for safety, assuring her they were safe because no one else knew they were there and all her phones were being monitored. Which then led her to feel SO safe that she not only left her son alone late at night while she worked her shift, but to also go to her ex-husband's house to tell him she wanted him back.
Of course he was in bed with another woman which left her with egg on her face but was soon forgotten when she finally returned to the hotel room and discovered her son was gone. On cue, the psycho called her (I thought the police were watching her, her hotel room, and her phones??) and demanded she follow his instructions to get her son back. (This, after she had felt confident he finally decided to leave her alone because, as she told anyone who would listen: "He doesnt call anymore so he's finally gone." Same skewed faulty thinking that led her to call the cops on an innocent guy at the night club she worked in because she was sure he was the psycho stalker. And she didn't even feel bad enough about her stupid mistake to apologize to him for it - just gave him another dirty look. She was so sure her stalker was gone when he stopped calling her that she went out for a cheery little shopping trip with her best friend while her mom was recuperating in hospital from the attempted murder - the same best friend who unthinkingly gave the stalker the stalkee's new cell phone number when he asked for it under the guise of pretending to be a detective working the case.)
He made her follow him out to the middle of nowhere to get her alone so he could make her understand how horrible she had been to cut him off on the highway. That was it...that was the only reason he had been tormenting her for weeks. He ordered her to apologize like she really meant it - which she had already done numerous times back when the incident happened.
That's it? That was his motive all along?? LAME. And stupid.
2 out of 10 / Grade D-
Good Mystery
Steve-54816 October 2004
Not a bad MOW. I was expecting another film based on womens issues but was pleasantly surprised at the element of suspense. Sure, parts of the plot were pretty hokey but for the most part the movie kept me guessing. Was the nut bar connected with the ex husband, somebody in the tavern or was it the guy (person) that she cut off? Daniel Magder was excellent. I've seen him in Mom's on Strike and in Guilt by Association, both MOW's and he is very creditable, especially the way he challenges his mother the way a preteen would typically act.
Laura Leighton also played the typical mother (ex-wife) that both men and women can relate to. She was frustrated enough to seem real.
See it if you missed it. It's worthwhile.
Laura Leighton also played the typical mother (ex-wife) that both men and women can relate to. She was frustrated enough to seem real.
See it if you missed it. It's worthwhile.
Road Rage
sol-kay12 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Over the top made for TV movie about this crazed stalker,Alain Goulem, who sets his sights on pretty single mom, aren't they all now a days in the movies, Joanne Sanders (Laura Leighton) who innocently cut him off one night on the highway on her way home from work as a hostess at the Santana Nightclub in downtown Phillie. Feeling both hurt and disrespect's this nut case starts to make Joanne and her 13 year old son Eric's lives miserable! If miserable is the right word for it. Hounding Joanne day and night by making threatening phone calls to her house the psycho goes a step farther by at first booby trapping her mom's car and then going so far as kidnapping her son Eric. As for Joanne's ex Keith,Frank Schorpion, he's on the outs with Eric as well as herself and tries to keep as far away from Joanne, and Joanne's problems, as possible.
The film gets more ridicules by the minute with Joanne really doing nothing to help herself in finding the creep by just installing a caller ID system on her phone, which for the most part is mandatory, to get his number and reported him to to the police. Joanne doesn't even have a cell phone that she can use to call the cops, which she magically later obtains, to use when she spots the stalker or his SUV when she's outside out of her house. In fact there was a scene when Joanne spotted the stalker's SUV parked right alongside her car and didn't even bother to take down his license plate and give it to the police!
***SPOILERS*** The ending really tops it, the movie, all with Joanne being forced by the stalker,who's holding her son Eric hostage, to say pretty please to him for all the hurt he suffered because of her, not at once considering all the hurt he caused Joanne, by cutting him off on the highway earlier in the film. Still not satisfied with her answer, yes Joanne did say pretty please to him, this total nut job went in for the kill only to end up getting everything that's coming to him, from an finally outrage and gun toting Joanne, that put him on ice or the hot seat for good!
The film gets more ridicules by the minute with Joanne really doing nothing to help herself in finding the creep by just installing a caller ID system on her phone, which for the most part is mandatory, to get his number and reported him to to the police. Joanne doesn't even have a cell phone that she can use to call the cops, which she magically later obtains, to use when she spots the stalker or his SUV when she's outside out of her house. In fact there was a scene when Joanne spotted the stalker's SUV parked right alongside her car and didn't even bother to take down his license plate and give it to the police!
***SPOILERS*** The ending really tops it, the movie, all with Joanne being forced by the stalker,who's holding her son Eric hostage, to say pretty please to him for all the hurt he suffered because of her, not at once considering all the hurt he caused Joanne, by cutting him off on the highway earlier in the film. Still not satisfied with her answer, yes Joanne did say pretty please to him, this total nut job went in for the kill only to end up getting everything that's coming to him, from an finally outrage and gun toting Joanne, that put him on ice or the hot seat for good!
Horrible mon and bratty kid
gloriaambrose-7180722 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
For a woman who is being stalked for cutting someone off on the road, she makes pretty horrible decisions about her kid who she claims to love. She makes no effort in installing a caller ID or something and always leaves her brat of a son alone with no safety measure. She even stalks her ex husband and tried making him feel bad for moving on. She Almost get her mom killed and the next thing she's off to shop with her foolish friend who didn't hesitate to divulge the safe house she's staying.
She accused a stranger and didn't even apologize for her mistake like wtf princess! The whole movie wasn't serious and I feel like the cheating husband scenario was just to gain audience from single mothers.
She accused a stranger and didn't even apologize for her mistake like wtf princess! The whole movie wasn't serious and I feel like the cheating husband scenario was just to gain audience from single mothers.
Now this movie was really STUPID.
lawanda-6063015 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This movie had great potential. The first 10-15 minutes had me hopeful but it went downhill from there. The main character Joann is a single mom who works at night and cuts a guy off in traffic on her way home from work one night. This guy then starts harassing her and from there it's one stupid move after another.
Joann works at night and has a son BUT she doesn't have a cell phone. That scenario in itself warrants having a cell phone.
She has this weird obsession with her ex husband who has moved on with his life. The son is a smart mouth brat whose character really wasn't needed.
There's a scene where she gets off work and her tire has been slashed. She calls her ex husband to come help and when he arrives the tire is perfectly fine. Joann arrives home to find her home broken into; she goes INSIDE the house and calls the cops. Here's another scenario where a cell phone is needed! Especially after all the harassment she's been dealing with. It's common sense.
She can't even tell the cops the number that's been calling her home because she doesn't have caller ID; even the cops thought that was stupid. Even if she didn't have it before as a single woman being harassed; that a feature that should of been added ASAP.
**The writers missed a lot of small details that would have made the movie make sense.**
Her mother's character was a joke as well. The only thing they related on was not being able to keep a man. Here she is with a daughter that's being stalked and they're sipping tea chatting about their failed marriages.
Her mother has a house fire and ends up in the hospital. Joann and her friend Carol leaves the hospital to go shopping. Stupid!
**Here is another missed opportunity to make the characters relatable. If someone's mom is in the hospital shopping is not on their mind!**
While at work one night she wrongfully accuses a nice gentleman of being the stalker; meanwhile the real stalker is kidnapping her son from the hotel where they are supposedly hiding out to be safe. Joann gets off work and goes to her ex husband house unannounced and then gets mad because he's home with a female. Stupid!
She gets to the hotel feeling stupid and humiliated only to realized her smart mouth son has been kidnapped. The stalker guy calls and instructs her to put the phone down, come out the room, throw her cell phone in the bushes and follow him.
**NOW WHERE THE HELL WAS THE CELL PHONE WHEN SHE NEEDED IT IN ALL THE OTHER SCENES. The viewer understand that it's small details such as that that'll make a entire movie HORRIBLE!
Her and the stalker meet up in a remote place where he's asking her to apologize and they end up wrestling for the gun. She gets the gun, shoots him and goes to hug her son. The stalker then gets in the car and proceeds to drive towards them and she starts shooting at the car.... BOOM! The car exploded and the stalker is dead.
**I'm not feeling the ending simply because of that final part where her and the son are hugging as they watched the car burn and their facial expressions were almost sinister.**
Joann works at night and has a son BUT she doesn't have a cell phone. That scenario in itself warrants having a cell phone.
She has this weird obsession with her ex husband who has moved on with his life. The son is a smart mouth brat whose character really wasn't needed.
There's a scene where she gets off work and her tire has been slashed. She calls her ex husband to come help and when he arrives the tire is perfectly fine. Joann arrives home to find her home broken into; she goes INSIDE the house and calls the cops. Here's another scenario where a cell phone is needed! Especially after all the harassment she's been dealing with. It's common sense.
She can't even tell the cops the number that's been calling her home because she doesn't have caller ID; even the cops thought that was stupid. Even if she didn't have it before as a single woman being harassed; that a feature that should of been added ASAP.
**The writers missed a lot of small details that would have made the movie make sense.**
Her mother's character was a joke as well. The only thing they related on was not being able to keep a man. Here she is with a daughter that's being stalked and they're sipping tea chatting about their failed marriages.
Her mother has a house fire and ends up in the hospital. Joann and her friend Carol leaves the hospital to go shopping. Stupid!
**Here is another missed opportunity to make the characters relatable. If someone's mom is in the hospital shopping is not on their mind!**
While at work one night she wrongfully accuses a nice gentleman of being the stalker; meanwhile the real stalker is kidnapping her son from the hotel where they are supposedly hiding out to be safe. Joann gets off work and goes to her ex husband house unannounced and then gets mad because he's home with a female. Stupid!
She gets to the hotel feeling stupid and humiliated only to realized her smart mouth son has been kidnapped. The stalker guy calls and instructs her to put the phone down, come out the room, throw her cell phone in the bushes and follow him.
**NOW WHERE THE HELL WAS THE CELL PHONE WHEN SHE NEEDED IT IN ALL THE OTHER SCENES. The viewer understand that it's small details such as that that'll make a entire movie HORRIBLE!
Her and the stalker meet up in a remote place where he's asking her to apologize and they end up wrestling for the gun. She gets the gun, shoots him and goes to hug her son. The stalker then gets in the car and proceeds to drive towards them and she starts shooting at the car.... BOOM! The car exploded and the stalker is dead.
**I'm not feeling the ending simply because of that final part where her and the son are hugging as they watched the car burn and their facial expressions were almost sinister.**
Could have-should have-been much better
matthew-609-43285516 February 2013
A lame ending and some silly plot elements take the zing right out of what could have been a decent enough made-for-T stalker movie.
Laura Leighton may never win an Oscar, but she deserves better material than this lazy effort. A first year film student could have written a more sensible and more gripping script than this, and almost anybody over the age of puberty could have scripted a better conclusion.
The premise of a furious driver stalking a fellow motorist who cut him off on the freeway is reasonable, if over-the-top considering the two did not actually have an accident. Some people are nuts (for want of a more politically correct word), and extreme road rage is not unknown. However, in the world of fiction scenarios of this sort should not end in as lame and downright senseless fashion as they do in this instantly forgettable movie. And we won't even worry about some of the implausible and illogical things that happen in between - the brightest mom on the planet, this woman is not.
Laura Leighton may never win an Oscar, but she deserves better material than this lazy effort. A first year film student could have written a more sensible and more gripping script than this, and almost anybody over the age of puberty could have scripted a better conclusion.
The premise of a furious driver stalking a fellow motorist who cut him off on the freeway is reasonable, if over-the-top considering the two did not actually have an accident. Some people are nuts (for want of a more politically correct word), and extreme road rage is not unknown. However, in the world of fiction scenarios of this sort should not end in as lame and downright senseless fashion as they do in this instantly forgettable movie. And we won't even worry about some of the implausible and illogical things that happen in between - the brightest mom on the planet, this woman is not.
Good title
Kristamw31 March 2019
A promising thriller that begins with great intensity at the very beginning when Joanne ( Laura Leighton ) is nearly run off the road after she accidentally cuts off a driver. From there, her life becomes endangered with unrelenting phone calls and threatening 'gifts'.
Writing Quality/Character Development: Pretty good with great turns at every corner, powerful displays of tense moments, and an endearing mother/son bond. Laura Leighton shines in this taut thriller. Her acting prowess proves smooth, likeable, and watchable.
Values: Mother/son bond. Joanne has a thirteen year old son who displays a strong respect and love for his mother; likewise, her love for him and her fierce protection of him (hurt by his father's estrangement) is evident.
Content (sex, language & violence): There are flashes of lovemaking. No language. The violence is in the end, for the most part, when there's a physical struggle.
Scare Factor/Suspense: In the beginning and in the end--very intense and stretched out with good suspense maintaining.
I really liked this movie, but the end was too weak. The motive given doesn't satisfy or explain itself well. And, we wonder how the villain was able to acquire so much information.
Unhinged Redux
lavatch16 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"Deadly Encounter" unfolds like Russell Crowe's maniacal road-rager in "Unhinged" with the difference that we do not meet the villain until the closing scene of the film.
On the surface a by-the-numbers' stalker yarn, the film features an especially strong performance by Laura Leighton as Joanne Sanders, the single mom under siege. After shifting lanes awkwardly while driving home from work, Joanne nearly collided with an SUV. The unforgiving driver picked up Joanne's phone number from a for sale sign on her vehicle. He then proceeded to turn her life into a living nightmare.
Leighton convincingly plays a hostess at Santana's Night Club and lounge. The club featured a terrific jazz combo. On the home front, Joanne is still in recovery from the divorce from her unfaithful husband, Keith. Her mother was also the victim of a philanderer, and the mother and daughter compare notes on their bad luck with men. Part of the drama of "Deadly Encounter" is the ambivalence of Joanne about whether she wants to return to her husband.
The film also includes the surly youngster, Eric, a precocious brat who never forgave his father and is often unaccommodating with his beleaguered mom. Joanne is described by bestie Carol as all "wrought up," which accurately conveys the stress under which she is living.
While not necessarily inventive or original, "Deadly Encounter" is a well-crafted thriller with a central character defined more than anything by the love she has for her child and the tenacity to survive while living in a pressure cooker.
On the surface a by-the-numbers' stalker yarn, the film features an especially strong performance by Laura Leighton as Joanne Sanders, the single mom under siege. After shifting lanes awkwardly while driving home from work, Joanne nearly collided with an SUV. The unforgiving driver picked up Joanne's phone number from a for sale sign on her vehicle. He then proceeded to turn her life into a living nightmare.
Leighton convincingly plays a hostess at Santana's Night Club and lounge. The club featured a terrific jazz combo. On the home front, Joanne is still in recovery from the divorce from her unfaithful husband, Keith. Her mother was also the victim of a philanderer, and the mother and daughter compare notes on their bad luck with men. Part of the drama of "Deadly Encounter" is the ambivalence of Joanne about whether she wants to return to her husband.
The film also includes the surly youngster, Eric, a precocious brat who never forgave his father and is often unaccommodating with his beleaguered mom. Joanne is described by bestie Carol as all "wrought up," which accurately conveys the stress under which she is living.
While not necessarily inventive or original, "Deadly Encounter" is a well-crafted thriller with a central character defined more than anything by the love she has for her child and the tenacity to survive while living in a pressure cooker.
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