Fire in the Sky
Directed by Rob Lieberman
After clearing brush for the government, a group of men return to town claiming their friend was abducted. Despite no apparent motive or evidence of foul play, no-one believes their story and his disappearance is treated as murder.
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Fire in the Sky Ratings & Reviews
- Jacob O’NealApril 8, 2026I know Travis Walton has a sort of love/hate relationship with this movie, mostly the third act not being accurate to his memory, but as far as alien abduction movies based on true stories go this one is damn good. Written by Tracy Torme (creator of Sliders) and starring DB Sweeney (The Cutting Edge) as Travis Walton, with a supporting cast featuring James Garner (The Rockford Files, Maverick), Robert Patrick (T2, X-Files), Henry Thomas ( ET, Gerald’s Game), Peter Berg (The Last Seduction, director of Hancock) and Craig Sheffer (Nightbreed, The Program). Living in Arizona for a good portion of my life, I was always fascinated by stories happening in the state, from the Walton case to the Phoenix Lights to the ghost of the Lost Dutchman mines. So when this movie came out I was primed and ready. The first two acts impressed me. Six men in a truck driving home at night from work cutting down trees see a light in forest and stop. Walton gets out. The other five see a light from the sky hit him as he goes stiff. They all claim to have seen him floating in the air and taken away. Initially under suspicion of making Walton disappear, the men fight to clear their names, including taking a polygraph test. Five days later, Walton returns dehydrated and having lost weight. He was hospitalized and had no memory of the last five days. This movie does well to show you the lives of these men, the toll it takes on each of them because of this incident. We get to know and like Travis Walton, his friends and even the police investigating. There’s no bad guy in this story, just a bunch of flawed men, citizens, investigators and those in the periphery. The only complaint I have is the third act flashback. Even before I knew Travis Walton had issues with the same thing it just felt like a totally different movie in tone and style for those parts. It wasn’t an issue of content for me, but tone. It’s a small complaint. Overall, I find this movie to be enthralling and well acted from start to finish. Definitely worth the watch.
- ZokkiieJanuary 21, 2026While the film starts strong with a compelling mystery, it's ultimately carried by its legendary abduction scenes. They’re still some of the most intense and chilling sequences in alien movie history. Despite being 33 years old, the film’s abduction scenes hold up better than most that have come since. Unfortunately, the rest of the film doesn’t quite live up to those moments. The pacing drags in the second half, and the emotional impact isn’t as strong as it could be. If you're into alien abduction stories, the visuals here are worth seeing, but the overall film doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Fire in the Sky Trivia
Fire in the Sky was released on March 12, 1993.
Fire in the Sky was directed by Rob Lieberman.
Fire in the Sky has a runtime of 1h 49m.
Fire in the Sky was produced by Todd Black, Joe Wizan.
After clearing brush for the government, a group of men return to town claiming their friend was abducted. Despite no apparent motive or evidence of foul play, no-one believes their story and his disappearance is treated as murder.
The key characters in Fire in the Sky are Travis Walton (D. B. Sweeney), Mike Rodgers (Robert Patrick), Allan Dallis (Craig Sheffer).
Fire in the Sky is rated PG-13.
Fire in the Sky is a Drama, Mystery, Biography film.
Fire in the Sky has an audience rating of 5.7 out of 10.
Fire in the Sky had a budget of $15M.
Fire in the Sky has made $19.9M at the box office.