Public perception of UFOs shifted after a 2017 New York Times article revealed a secret
Pentagon UFO investigation program.
The Times’ revelations may have improved ufology’s credibility, but the subject has
yet to shed its association with conspiracy theorists and crackpots.
Writer-director Caroline Cory’s new documentary A Tear in the Sky looks to improve ufology’s
tarnished image by steering clear of fringe topics like alien abductions.
Instead, Cory uses the U.S. Navy’s recently declassified UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena)
encounters to bolster the film’s credibility and approach skeptics with cold hard facts.
A Tear in the Sky attempts to solve the UFO mystery by placing a world-class team of investigators
in a UFO hotspot.
And sure, hundreds of paranormal investigation shows have tried same thing.
However, this doc doesn’t waste time chasing impossible to verify supernatural phenomena.
The film’s team of scientists and career researchers means business, utilizing military-grade
equipment to collect quantifiable data.
The research team embarks on a five-day study, collecting data from an infamous UFO hotspot
near southern California.
They break into three groups (based in Catalina, Laguna, and Long Beach) to triangulate data
captured from UAP sightings off the coast.
I won’t spoil what the teams discover, but I will say they don’t come back empty-handed.
A Tear in the Sky is relatively tame and formulaic by UFO documentary standards.
After all, this is a genre littered with titles like The Bigfoot Alien Connection Revealed.
While this film makes some bold claims, these statements stem from the team’s methodical,
well-documented study.
There are no alien abduction tales or speculating about cosmic space brothers.
The doc features UFO community staples such as Kevin Day, Gary Voorhis, Kevin Knuth, John
B. Alexander, Travis Taylor, and Steven Greenstreet.
The casting didn’t stop at UFO Twitter celebrities, either.
A Tear in the Sky also stars theoretical theorist Michio Kaku, who delivers some open-minded
takes on making contact with extraterrestrial life.
Cory bookends the movie with appearances from sci-fi legend William Shatner.
Shatner sits down with Cory to wax on about the profound ramifications of her investigation.
Shatner doesn’t say anything of consequence about the existence of UAPs.
His segments come off like bits of fluff that exist to market the movie.
A Tear in the Sky does its damndest to look like a legit scientific investigation, but
a few things gnawed at me (like casting Shatner).
There’s a level of theatricality that hurts the doc’s credibility.
Even though I enjoyed the movie, I couldn’t shake its carnival barker vibe.
The premise screams out, “Step right up, buy a ticket, and discover the mysteries of
the universe.”
At the end of the day, this authentic investigation feels manipulative.
I get it, A Tear in the Sky is a documentary.
It’s packaged as entertainment to spread awareness about UAPs.
I understand that.
But imagine a group of scientists produced a documentary about discovering the cure for
cancer before revealing the news to the public.
It doesn’t help that A Tear in the Sky uses the same cinematic language as trashy reality
series like Unidentified with Demi Lovato.
In one scene, scientists use binoculars to gaze into the night sky.
It’s an unremarkable act, but the epic score says otherwise.
The background music wouldn’t be out of place during the climax of a Michael Bay movie.
It’s as though the film is afraid to let the research speak for itself.
Last June, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its Preliminary Assessment
on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
The nine-page document acknowledged the UAP reality while withholding critical details
for the classified version of the report.
The United States government confirmed the UAP reality, but it’s keeping that knowledge
close to its vest.
If the public wants answers to the modern UFO mystery, it’s going to take passionate,
open-minded people like the investigators in this movie.
There’s no doubt folks like Gary Voorhis, Kevin Knuth, and Travis Taylor are working
their asses off for a cause they believe in.
But this project’s promotional nature gives me pause.
Cory seems a bit too comfortable in the role of ufology guru.
She carries herself with a degree of certainty about the universe’s mysteries, and that
doesn’t jive with the scientific rigour at the heart of the movie.
Once the credits rolled, I didn’t have the impression she’s seeking the objective truth.
Instead, this feels like an attempt to validate long-held UFO theories.