Fire in the Sky

Fire in the Sky was originally a book based on the true experiences by Travis Walton, a logger in northeastern Arizona who claims to have been abducted by aliens.

His Story
In 1975 Walton and a few other loggers were going home late one evening when they saw strange lights in the night sky. They investigated the lights, which led to Walton getting out of the vehicle to get a better look. He was missing for five days in which a massive manhunt was mounted to find him. Authorities thought that one of his companions had murdered him, and that his body was buried some where on the mountain. Each of the loggers who had been in the car that evening were heavily questioned about their relationship with Walton and were tested by a lie detector. On the fifth day Walton was found alive, but in poor condition.

No one would believe the loggers about the aliens, least of all Walton's terrifying tale of his experiences. He was subjected to questioning by not only the press, debunkers and local authorities, but also by his friends and family. At one point he submitted to a lie detector test, which he passed.

The Film

Director:.........................Rob Lieberman
Producer:.......................Joe Wizan
Producer:.......................Todd Black
Casting:.........................Rick Pagano
Executive Producer:.....Wolfgang Glattes

The Cast:
D.B. Sweeney..............Travis Walton
Robert Patrick..............Mike Rogers
Craig Sheffer................Allan Dallis
Peter Berg David.........Whitlock
Henry Thomas.............Greg Hayes
Bradley Gregg..............Bobby Cogdill
Noble Willingham.......Sheriff Blake Davis
Kathleen Wilhoite........Katie Rogers

Released in 1993, the movie fell victim to poor reviews. Alien stories were overly done by that time, and many felt that too much time was spent on the five loggers who were left behind and not enough on Walton's actual experiences with the aliens. I found that what they did show of his experiences was vague enough to heighten the creepiness and detailed enough to keep me lured in, which is always good in a sci-fi movie. The attention focused on the search and impact of his disappearance on the town created the drama in the film, and was important as this was a true story. D.B. Sweeney did an excellent job as Walton, managing a believable terror during and after the abduction.

The portrayal of the aliens in this movie is another element that adds to the creepiness. They were going on Walton's sketches of the aliens which, lets face it, coincides with the stereotypical large eyes, thin bodies description. They made this "childish" portrayal frightening by the obvious malice the beings intend, instead of going totally Hollywood and creating drooling monsters with acid for blood. If you like alien flicks I highly recommend it. If you're like Multi-Creamer, and have a phobia of little green men with large black eyes...I'd avoid this one.

Interesting Trivia
In the movie the real Travis Walton appears in the church scene when Mike confronts the community.

The tree that falls inches from DB Sweeney in the logging scene is no special effect - he had enormous trust and confidence in the loggers who pre-cut the tree for Craig Sheffer to finish off when filming.

During the New York crowd scenes in the film Deep Impact, a cinema in the background is playing this film.