A group of loggers are accused of murder, or at the very least foul play, when they return from a woodcutting job without their friend and coworker, Travis Walton (D.B. Sweeney). What’s their story? Oh, you know, they say that Travis got whisked away by a flying saucer! Mike Rogers (Robert Patrick), the leader of the Loggin’ Boyz (they aren’t actually called this in the movie), becomes persona non grata in the community despite proclaiming their innocence.

Their farfetched story faces a lot of criticism, but it’s hard-nosed Lieutenant Frank Watters (James Garner) who puts the fire under their little behinds to find out the truth. Then suddenly, after five days, Travis turns up alive though totally nude, filthy, disorientated, and almost completely out of his ding dang mind. Only after his repressed memories resurface (thanks to a well-placed bottle of maple syrup), do we see what happened to the guy when those gosh darn aliens done took him.

While mainly a television director, Robert Lieberman does a decent job with Fire in the Sky, the movie version of the real Travis Walton’s book detailing his abduction story. My favorite parts of the film are in the atmospheric scenes in the bar when the Loggin’ Boyz are telling their story to Frank Watters and the harrowing special effects extravaganza when we see what happens to Travis in the alien spacecraft. Much like Lieberman, screenwriter Tracy Tormé wrote almost exclusively for television. His script is decent but there’s a few stock moments in the dialog that are sadly kinda predictable. Whoa, Tracy Tormé is Mel Tormé’s son?! How did he resist having a scat-talkin’ jazz battle out in the woods?

Fire in the Sky certainly has an excellent cast making the best of an okay screenplay. Good old “Toe Pick” himself, D.B. Sweeney is excellent as Travis Walton. It’s impossible not to feel something for this guy who nearly loses his mind due to his traumatic experiences. Sweeney has done a lot of stuff over the years, but he’ll always be known for The Cutting Edge (1992) in my household -God help me. Robert Patrick is great and really digs into his role as a man who becomes a pariah in his own hometown. And come on, James Garner is always a treat. Always.

Composer Mark Isham was well into his career when he did Fire in the Sky, and it’s easy to see why he’s done so well for himself over the years. His score for this film is just so damn good. It’s spooky, pretty, and richly dynamic. Yeah, I really dig it. Those industrious lighting magicians over at Industrial Light & Magic handled the special effects on Fire in the Sky and hoo boy, they pulled out all the stops. If you’re on the fence about checking out this movie, just hit it up for the effects. You won’t be disappointed in that regard.

Fire in the Sky holds up rather well since it scared the crap out of me -not literally- way back when I saw it in the theaters. The one thing that I like and don’t like about it now is how the film just kinds of peters out at the end. That might be a little too much like real life for a dramatized version of a true event. Everything is pretty much wrapped up, but I still find the film strangely unsatisfying this time around.

Scream Factory did a decent job with their release of Fire in the Sky, but some possible transmissions from an alien broadcast -can’t confirm- have made things just a bit wonky. While the disc sounds incredible, the picture pulses quite a bit as some transfers do. It’s not a dealbreaker at all for me, but I noticed it happening a lot on this particular disc. Colors are sharp and the blacks are deep, no complaints in that department. There are audio interviews with the director and some members of the cast. I was definitely left wanting more in terms of Making Of docs.