Fire in the Sky (1993)

Directed by Robert Lieberman. Starring Robert Patrick, D. B. Sweeney, James Garner, Peter Berg, Craig Sheffer, Noble Willingham, Henry Thomas, Georgia Emelin, Kathleen Wilhoite, Bradley Gregg, Scott MacDonald, Charley Lang. [PG-13]

Five loggers head off to work, but only four of them come back, telling a story about seeing a large unidentified flying (floating) object in the woods that abducted co-worker Sweeney. The town and law enforcement are predictably unconvinced, no matter how hard the men protest they’re telling the truth (the shady behavior and background of one of the men certainly doesn’t help). Much of the film is uneven and redundant—instead of showing the “close encounter” during the first act, I suspect the drama would have been more absorbing if the sight had been withheld and the audience could be uncertain about the truth. Despite a strong performance from Patrick as one of the workers, too little is known about the men beyond rural working-class stereotypes. Ultimately, it’s all just a long setup for the climactic flashback “recreation” of Sweeney’s experiences aboard the mysterious craft, a sequence as horrific as it is credible in the hands of director Lieberman, his production design team, and the terrified actor. It’s ultimately the only part of the movie that really sticks with you, but it’s so viscerally impactful, the rocky journey is worth taking to get there. Based on a purported “true” story, as reflected in the book written by the alleged abductee (“The Walton Experience”).

58/100