Being out in the woods is scary enough with bears, wolves and poachers with guns lurking in the darkness. But what if aliens from outer space show up? How are you going to explain that one of your pals got beamed up to a UFO to get examined? During the early ’70s, alien abduction was getting noticed in the press and books that questioned if there was life from outer space and what would they do when they get here. Steven Spielberg did his best to make such meetings look fun with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The Extraterrestrial. His aliens were happy strange creatures eager to share music and Reese’s Pieces with us. Spielberg never got beamed up on a spaceship and had his butt poked for five days. That’s exactly what happened to Travis Walton when he was abducted for five days and six months outside Snowflake, Arizona in 1975. He wrote a book about what he experienced during that time. His account of a close encounter of the third kind was turned into Fire In The Sky.
Late one night Mike Rogers (Terminator 2‘s Robert Patrick), Allan Dallis (Voyage of the Rock Aliens‘ Craig Sheffer), David Whitlock (The Last Seduction‘s Peter Berg), Greg Hayes (E.T.‘s Henry Thomas) and Bobby Cogdill (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors‘ Bradley Gregg) arrive at a bar in Snowflake. The five guys look freaked out until one goes to the payphone to call the cops. Turns out their co-worker Travis Walton (The Cutting Edge’s D.B. Sweeney) had vanished. The case is too much for the local sheriff so he calls in Lt. Frank Watters (The Rockford Files‘ James Garner) to investigate this missing person case. Watters is a bit skeptical getting the rundown about how the six workers had been out in the forest clearing brush as part of a government contract. On there way back, they saw what looked like a fire in the sky. They drove over and saw something above them. While the others stayed in the car, Walton goes out to get a better look and finds himself being sucked up into the sky. The five guys in the car hit the gas for fear that they’ll be next to encounter the UFO. Watters and a crew hit the woods and find no sign of Walton. There’s a sense that something else happened in the woods and they’re responsible. The five co-workers get tense as the investigation continues in the small town. After five days, they get news that Walton has turned up. What happened to him after they drove away is a thrilling tale of interstellar proportions.
Fire In the Sky could easily turn into an Ancient Aliens episode, but it goes deep into the human tensions of the people left behind after Walton gets lifted upward. The workers are not the best of friends. There’s a gruff factor to them that isn’t helped when the cops keep grilling them as if they’ve buried Walton in a shallow grave. James Garner is perfectly cast as the cop who is poking around their stories. You feel he’s being fair to everyone while in search of the truth about what happened to Walton. The crew playing the co-workers have a real ’70s vibe in their performances.
The special effects from when Walton remembers his time from inside the UFO are extremely effective. The mixture of goop and zero gravity floating will make you feel intrigued and icky at the same time. This isn’t the charming Spielberg fantasy when the aliens put him on the examination table. You won’t be letting E.T. phone home to bring these outer space creeps to your neighborhood. Fire In the Sky will remind you to never get out of the car to say hello to visitors from another galaxy.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer brings out the creepiness of the spaceship action. Audio is 5.1. DTS-HA MA Surround so you’ll feel like you’re in the woods or deep inside a UFO. There’s also a 2.0 DTS-HD MA stereo for the speakers just from the front. The movie is subtitled.
Interview with Robert Liberman (26:20) has him discuss how his first film with Paramount didn’t do too well with critics because it had a television feel to it. The studio executive liked the film and gave him a second feature of his choosing. He wanted to make Fire In The Sky and swore he could make it look good without busting the budget. He went to Snowflake, Arizona and discovered the place in the ’80s had sold out to strip malls and had lost its ’70s feel. He went to Oregon. He talks about bringing in Henry Thomas best known for E.T. for this tale of aliens that want more than Reece’s Pieces.
Touched By Light (15:19) lets D.B. Sweeney explain that he took the role because he figured Industrial Light & Magic was doing the special effects and he thought his work with them would bring him to the attention of James Cameron for his Spider-Man movie. Cameron didn’t make his superhero film, but D.B. Sweeney gave a fine performance here. He goes into the amazing effects. This is an audio interview with clips from the film to illustrate his tales.
Robert Patrick Interview (11:11) has him get into how he was mostly getting robot parts after Terminator 2. He wanted to get into a real human role. He was attached to the film since it takes place on his birthday. He ended up visiting Snowflake and seeing the locations after he read the script and before he landed the part.
Composer Mark Isham (11:41) has him talk about he was originally thought as the synth guy. But after doing A River Runs Through It, producers and directors saw him differently. Fire In The Sky brings both sides together.
Photo Gallery (4:50) is a montage of posters, behind the scenes pics and publicity stills.
Theatrical Trailer (1:14) sets up that a man was borrowed by aliens for five days to explore his body.
Scream Factory presents Fire In The Sky. Directed by Robert Lieberman. Screenplay by Tracey Torme. Starring D.B. Sweeny, Robert Patrick, Craig Sheffer, Peter Berg, Henry Thomas and James Garner. Running Time: 109 minutes. Rating: Rated PG-13. Release Date: June 21, 2022.
