Actually for a medium budget film the movie Beyond The Sky is entertaining and a fine production to boot. While the story may be a little bit clichéd, the acting works and the pretty cool sets and cinematography are above par for a Sci-fi thriller. If you are a Sci-fi buff it’s a lot of curious fun. For a UFO enthusiast, they may find it an interesting approach to the subject matter.
It’s been years since Chris Norton (Ryan Carnes) witnessed his father in a brutal argument with his mother leading to her disappearance. His father’s reason for her being missing involved being taken by aliens. He was a camera bug at ten so Chris filmed the argument and kept it hidden from his dad. Not quite believing the story of a kidnapping the young boy still lasted his early years with his father until adulthood kicked in. What did stay with him however, is the belief in just maybe there are extraterrestrials that have arrived on planet Earth.
Chris, now a full-fledged documentary filmmaker, has chosen UFO’s as a project for his current film. His interest takes him to the desert of New Mexico, the land of enchantment, where he meets Emily Reed (Jordan Hinson). She’s a local woman and is attending a UFO Congress where she defends Adam a young man who claims to have been abducted. She then tells of her kidnapping by aliens when she was 7 and every 7 years following. Realizing he has a good story to film, Chris convinces her to help him get interviews with the people who claim to have been abducted. She tells him that she turns 28 in a few days and Chris is pumped up at possibly finding out if abductions by aliens really happen.
The story goes on from there to a wild ride with some nice thrills and even a chill or two. Director Fulvio Sestito jams all of the above into the first 15 minutes of the film then starts to apply some of his magic with jumpy situations in the dessert night. It’s a fun film and Sistito does a good job of providing a tense lead up to what happens throughout his nightmarish movie.
What makes the film work however, is the nice acting by Jordan Hinson and Ryan Carnes as the two protagonists who find themselves in a world that may or may not be real. Carnes characterizes Chris as this unbeliever who thinks it’s all made up and even adds a few scares to turn Hinson’s Emily into feeling he may be on the right track. Hinson makes her a very stern true believer and that each of her previous abductions were the real thing. This gets Chris worked up at getting a possible alien sighting for his cameraman, Brent (Claude Duhamel), to record.
Bonus Features:
“Interview with Travis Walton, Alien Abductee and Author of “Fire in the Sky” shows a real interview he did with a man who claims to have been abducted by a beam of light.
“Interview with Navajo Artist at the International UFO Congress” shows an actual interview with a Native American Navaho Arizona who when he was 10-years-old witnessed a UFO.
Beyond the Sky has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains brutality, language, violence and drugs. The film is available as a Blu-ray, DVD or Digital HD.
FINAL ANALYSIS: For believers the film may be a bit over the top. (3 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Starring: Ryan Carnes, Jordan Hinson, Claude Duhamel, Peter Stormare, Travis Walton, Milton Chee, Martin Sensmeier, Don Stark, Daniel Burgio, Dee Wallace,
Directed by: Fulvio Sestito
Genre: Mystery, Sci-fi, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 22 min.
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains brutality, language, violence
Original Theatrical Release: September 21, 2018
Video Release Date: November 6, 2018
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RLJE Films
Released Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
