In
between working as the previsualization effects artist on such major motion
pictures as Terminator: Dark Fate and
Deadpool 2, Fulvio Sestito made his
feature film directing debut with the low budgeted indie science fiction
thriller Beyond the Sky. Like Andy Fowler’s Aliens: Zone of Silence, it’s another alien abduction flick created
by a renowned visual effects artist though this one happens to feature Peter
Stormare, Dee Wallace (E.T.) and even
a cameo by the world’s most famous alien abductee Travis Walton whose own story
was turned into the still terrifying chiller Fire in the Sky. In the case
of Beyond the Sky, half of it uses
the found-footage aesthetic which is becoming more common with alien abduction
movies while interspersing in a conventional narrative thriller about the
tipping point when skeptics become believers.
Chris
Norton (Ryan Carnes from General Hospital)
is a cynical and embittered documentary filmmaker who, after his mom disappears
which his father (Stormare) blames on alien abduction, is determined to assail
and disprove abductees and ufologists claims of the existence of
extraterrestrial life. An angry male
Scully from The X-Files of sorts, his
journey of confirming his skepticism leads him towards New Mexico where a kind
of group gathering for abductees to share their stories is being held. Upon arrival he meets up with Emily Reed
(Jordan Hinson), a sculptor claiming to have been abducted every seven years
since her seventh birthday. Naturally
Chris scoffs at the whole thing, until one night he and his cinematographer
lose time they can’t account for.
A
bit more upbeat than some of the other far more nihilistic alien abduction
offerings that almost always end up with the poor protagonist getting sucked
into the spaceship in the end, Beyond the
Sky for a microbudget effort sports remarkable visual effects (rendered by Sestito
himself), interesting characters and even a measure of subversion. Performances by Carnes and Hinson are
serviceable and have good onscreen chemistry, though the real stars of this
show are the industry veterans who came out of the woodwork for this film. Composer Don Davis, best known for his work
on The Matrix, makes a grand return
to musical composition after a more than ten year hiatus from the film
scene. Also present is renowned film
editor Richard Nord (The Fugitive),
rounding out this collaborative effort as something of a film industry veteran’s
family reunion.
If
you’re a sucker for alien abduction flicks like me, Beyond the Sky will give you a decent two hour ride. In the pantheon of recent low budget UFO movies,
which we’ll continue to see more and more of with time, Beyond the Sky is one of the better ones. Close
Encounters of the Third Kind, Communion
and Fire in the Sky remain the
pinnacles of the subgenre but Beyond the
Sky isn’t out to challenge the kidnapped-by-aliens movie throne. Rather it’s an entertaining low budget
effects driven spectacle made by one of the industry’s newest and most skillful
technicians as well as offering an unusual spin on a familiar science fiction
story. Not a film that aims high but for
sci-fi fans is an inspired little gem of a movie.
--Andrew Kotwicki
