Fire in the Sky (1993) Review

 

Fire in the Sky (1993)

Fire in the Sky follows Travis Walton, who, after being abducted by aliens, mysteriously reappears 5 days later, a damaged man, tortured by what happened to him while he was missing. 

I have a love/hate relationship with extraterrestrial movies because far too often, they never feel grounded. It’s always a little too sci-fi for me; like, we can’t get one without going to space and shooting laser rifles or whatever. Which, on the flip side, is why I love Fire in the Sky because as much as it can, it grounds the story to a modern Earth and a reality (like ours) where this isn’t a normal thing. Where people don’t just get zapped off the ground and disappear for five days. And instead of the town believing them, it naturally progresses into a murder investigation and a burning question left on everyone’s lips: Where is Travis Walton? 

In my opinion, no movie ever has or ever will quite nail the concept of an alien abduction like Fire in the Sky did. Partly due to it being based on a true account but mainly out of the sheer terrifying horror it presents us with when flashing back to the time when Travis was missing, as it slowly pieces together those absent days and his fractured psyche. The way it goes about causing severe discomfort, as Travis is abducted and subsequently trapped to a table and heavily tortured is so raw and frankly, a bit terrifying, that when he does come back to Earth, you then understand why he is no longer than motorcycle driving, fun-loving friend he once was. He’s damaged. And in their own way, so are the people closest to him that witnessed his disappearance, as the way it affects their lives is a whole ‘nother form of Hell on Earth. 

We get a superb cast, starring Kathleen Wilhoite, Henry Thomas, Bradley Gregg, Craig Sheffer, James Garner, Peter Berg, Robert Patrick, and D.B. Sweeney. This is probably one of Patrick’s most underrated performances, almost a decade before his stint on X-Files, as the way he portrays a man who’s whole livelihood is uprooted from this one chance encounter, is done so methodically and passionately, that you can’t help but feel for him, long after Sweeney reenters the picture (who is marvelous by the way). 

Based on the real life account of Travis Walton, Fire in the Sky, directed by Robert Lieberman, is one of the few alien abduction films that not only gets it right, but does it justice, as it frighteningly tells a harrowing tale of one man’s tale of survival and another’s fight to absolve himself of a murder he didn’t commit. 

7.9/10