Fire in the Sky
(Robert Lieberman, 1993)
The film is inspired by an alleged case of alien sighting and abduction that occurred in the 1970s in the United States.
Brief Plot:
The story follows a group of six loggers who find themselves in the woods of Arizona when they suddenly spot an unidentified flying object. One of the group members, Travis Walton (portrayed by D.B. Sweeney), is hit by a beam of light from the object and disappears into thin air. His terrified and panicked colleagues return to town and recount their incredible story to local authorities. Travis’s disappearance and subsequent reappearance spark a series of investigations by the local sheriff and a team of federal investigators. While the group of loggers is pressured and accused of murder, Travis tells a shocking story: he claims to have been abducted by alien beings and subjected to experiments and observations…
Considerations:
The film addresses themes such as credibility, faith, perception, and trauma. As the local community oscillates between skepticism and belief in Travis’s experience, the film explores how the event impacts the lives of the protagonists and puts them up against a huge challenge for their own survival. From a visual standpoint, the work features a memorable sequence depicting Travis’s abduction experience. This scene, showing the protagonist undergoing experiments by aliens, has sparked debate among viewers for its intensity and realism.
Glows in the Dark, whose original title is “Fire in the Sky,” received mixed reviews from critics upon its release but has become a cult film over the years. Many appreciate its ability to create suspense and explore the theme of alien encounters engagingly. The film has also sparked debates about the authenticity of Travis Walton’s alleged abduction case, with some people firmly believing in his story and others being more skeptical.
Differences Between the Film and the True Story:
The experience reported by the real Travis Walton in the UFO is very different from how it was narrated in the film. In reality, he claimed to have woken up directly on a table with small monstrous beings (commonly called Greys, although with some variations in appearance) staring at him, and after threatening them with an object, he said the beings fled, leaving him alone, unlike the film where he is forcibly held by the creatures. Additionally, before being released back to Earth, he revealed that he had taken a tour of the ship and found other beings with perfectly human-like appearances, with blond hair and golden eyes. When he was released, 5 days later, Travis was found inside a phone booth wearing the same clothes he had when he disappeared and not completely naked as portrayed in the film.
Trivia:
In the film’s scene where townspeople gather in church to address the situation with the sheriff, at 55:30, the real Travis Walton makes a cameo appearance.
