This month we invited three time Rondo Award nominee Edward October to be a guest writer. Edward narrates true and true-ish classic tales of horror and the paranormal, and today he is taking on the classic UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill. Be sure to take a look at their YouTube show (Octoberpod) and a listen to their podcast (Octoberpod AM) to get your spooky fix. You can find them both on his website: https://www.octoberpodvhs.com.
…and now…here’s Edward!
I've always found the Barney and Betty Hill Abduction to be one of the most fascinating alien abduction cases I've ever heard. (The details of the case are well known, and have been in countless books, documentaries, and podcasts, so I won't summarize them here.) In particular, I'm fascinated by the ways in which this abduction story intersects TV/movies and the socio-political climate of the 1960s. The first of several works to be based up the Hill Abduction is the 1974 NBC telefilm, THE UFO INCIDENT.
It stars James Earl Jones as Barney Hill, Estelle Parsons as Betty Hill, and Barnard Hughes (whom many of you will recognize as the grandfather from The Lost Boys) as their therapist. Viewers expecting the histrionics of COMMUNION or a lurid episode of the X Files will be disappointed. THE UFO INCIDENT is a very sober, understated, and subtle film that tells the story of the Hills' Abduction by aliens thru a series of therapy sessions (some of which are conducted under hypnosis). Hell, aside from brief glimpses, it avoids any scifi imagery at all, until the last act or so. Though, as is common with made-for-TV movies of the era, it's never visually flashy.
Nevertheless ... THE UFO INCIDENT manages to deliver the chills. While there IS an effective dramatization of Betty being examined by the aliens, the most unsettling scenes are a pair of emotionally raw monologues delivered by Jones and Parsons. The film seems preoccupied with faces: the true terror of the incident unfolds on the faces of our protagonists, brought to life by two theatrically trained pros. James Earl Jones, in particular, gives a nuanced performance that can go from quiet fear to hysteria to rage and to warmth and compassion all in the same scene. He embodies raging passion, the tenderness of a loving husband, the determination of a concerned political activist, and the vulnerability of a frightened child ... all within a performance that's truly not to be missed. Those who only know James Earl Jones from Star Wars, The Lion King, and the (good) Jack Ryan films will be pleased to discover one of the greatest actors of our time.
While the film offers a faithful representation of the Hills' story, it's not really a film about aliens. It's about a marriage, and about the impossibility of knowing all there is to know about another person ... even the love of your life... even yourself. It's a movie about the unknowable cosmos inside the human mind and soul. And if it is a horror movie, then its monster isn't space aliens ... the monster is how American society treated interracial couples in the 1960s; or the spectre of nuclear annihilation during the hottest period of The Cold War.
It's fitting that the Hills' story ended up on TV ... TV seems to be intertwined with their legacy. Skeptics often point out similarities between their alleged abductors and an episode of The Outer Limits that aired shortly before the incident. (The alien in question was played by veteran character actor John Hoyt whom Trekkies will know as Dr. Boyce, ship's surgeon aboard the starship Enterprise in the Star Trek pilot episode THE CAGE)
The TV connections don't end with THE OUTER LIMITS! A similar theory has been posited about the Travis Walton abduction. Skeptics of THAT case point out the similarities between Walton's experience (adapted as the nightmare inducing FIRE IN THE SKY) and the events dramatized in THE UFO INCIDENT, which aired shortly before Walton's alleged abduction. Whether you believe the Hills or not, THE UFO INCIDENT is well worth your time. It's a bit dry, with a languorous pace in its first half ... but stick with it, and once you're hip to what it's doing you'll be rewarded for your patience.
If you enjoy tales of the paranormal ... as well as the occasional deep dive into my retro horror pop culture obsessions, then check out Octoberpod AM. It's theretro horror podcast for bold individualists, hosted by yours truly ... Edward October. Every two weeks we present true, true-ish, and classic tales of horror and the paranormal with a retro-vintage aesthetic reminiscent of old time radio and spoken word horror on vinyl. Find Octoberpod AM wherever you get podcasts, or on YouTube at Octoberpod Home Video. Follow us on the app formerly known as Twitter @OctoberpodVHS or find all our links on the World Wide Web at OctoberpodVHS.com