Fire in the Sky - Review
Based on Travis Walton's book 'Fire in the Sky', in which he recounts his alleged alien encounter in 1975, this film by the same name was directed by Robert Lieberman and released in 1993. The film follows Mike Rogers (Robert Patrick) and his life following the disappearance of his close friend Travis (D.B. Sweeney), showing how the town shuns him because of the suspicious incident. Even Mike's wife seems to have problems believing his story, which helps to create an emotional connection between the character and the audience; the audience had previously seen that Travis was 'killed' and shares his struggle. On the other hand, due to the overwhelming amount of accusations and disbelief towards Mike, the audience may also question themselves and whether or not Mike came up with the whole situation himself.
SPOILERS ONWARDS
While the story itself is rather slow , with the exception of the third act, I personally found the story interesting enough to keep my attention; the two plot points that stand out to me most are the police's involvement in the mystery, in which they gather more information from the protagonist and his group of friends who were also at the abduction scene, which eventually results in a lie detector test that proves the group is telling the truth, and Mike's family situation, where his wife has difficulty believing his story, leading her to leave him and taking his children away from him. Both of these plot elements create an empathetic character in Mike, and his struggle dealing with these issues makes him interesting to watch.
The film becomes very interesting, however, once Travis is found after his five days of being missing. Travis is clearly distressed, and through very brief flashbacks an enigma is created, encouraging the audience to question what happened during his disappearance. This story concludes with a very satisfying scene that almost flips the film's genre into horror, with plenty of wonderfully crafted practical effects that make the ship seem like an actual alien craft. While the alien's designs themselves look a little underwhelming, there is a great amount of tension built up in this scene through the soundtrack and props that really put me on the edge of my seat. Once Travis is discovered by the aliens, a terrifying sequence begins in which he is tied down with a strange substance and is probed with a thin needle that moves towards the camera, which is certain to create some nightmares should a child see the film.
While 'Fire in the Sky' involves a rather slow story, the end scene makes up for this with an incredibly satisfying horror-like sequence that feels real due to the consistent use of props and colour. The characters are interesting enough, but don't push any boundaries. I would recommend this film to any Sci-Fi fan , though I don't think it subverts any tropes enough to interest a casual audience.
6/10