# Encode output.
# Use the encoding that's appropriate for you.
binmode STDOUT, ':encoding(UTF-8)';

my $lines;
{
   # Decode input.
   open my $log_fh, "<:encoding(UCS-2)", $file
      or die($!);
   local $/ = undef;
   $lines = <LOGFILE>;
}

print "...\n", $lines, "...\n";