Text © Robert
Barry Francos / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from
the Internet
On the Trail
of UFOs: Night Visitors
Directed by Seth Breedlove
Small Town Monsters;
1091 Pictures
81 minutes, 2022
www.smalltownmonsters.com
I know I have said this before, but cinematically speaking, director Seth Breedlove is the “king” of cryptid mythology, with films covering ghosts, Bigfoot, Mothman, Momo, and so many others. Lately, he’s been doing television mini-series, and this film is a combination of two of them, “On the Trail of UFOs” (2020) and “On the Trail of UFOs: Dark Skies” (2021; reviewed HERE).There may be some new footage, but as I have not seen both of the others, I cannot tell, so I will focus on what is in front of me.
Most of Breedlove’s documentaries take place on the East Coast-ish, such as the Adirondack Mountains, or the eastern part of the Midwest, such as Missouri. For this new investigation, he travels as far as the San Luis Valley of southwestern Colorado, to start. Nice to see him and his crew stretch their legs a bit.
While the topic of UFOs and aliens is a well-worn trope, this isn’t about alien abductions, exactly, but rather the history of cattle mutilations that have been going on since at least the 1990s. For those who are vegetarians, vegans, and those sensitive and easily triggered to that kind of thing, be forewarned there are multiple images of the mutilations. While I understand the reasoning for these, as it is the topic du jour, they could have cut down on the number and just make the point.
As with other “On the Trail of…” shows and films, it is hosted by Panama hat-wearing cryptid investigator Shannon Legro, who also narrates the documentary, as well as being its backbone. She arrives in Colorado with the Small Town Monsters crew, which is three other men, including the director, Breedlove, as someone to bounce ideas off of for perspective.
As always, there are tons of first-person witness interviews, writers and paranormal investigators, as well as those in organizations focused on the topic, such as the head of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network, a collective of volunteers who investigate and keep records of sightings and other strange occurrences, such as said cattle mutilations).
Now, when I say first-person witnesses, I am talking about cattle ranchers who discover their stock after the tragedies. One claims of 24 of his herd were mistreated since the 1990s. But no one is an actual eyewitness, of course (that’s why it is cryptid) of the aliens, their ships, or the mutilations in progress.
Shannon Legro and Snippy the Horse
For that reason, the story eventually slides over to very briefly include abductions, such as a story of someone (no longer alive) who claimed he was taken many times. The documentary also flows a bit further south, where supposedly the cattle mutilation started (i.e., was first reported), and as one interviewee states, it is an area rife with other Earth-bound cryptids and witches (as the latter are relatively human, would they be considered cryptids?). It is here we meet the head of the UFO Watchtower, an organization similar to MUFON, run by a woman who has a literal watchtower on her middle-of-nowhere ranch, surrounded by UFO paraphernalia (e.g., alien dolls, signs, masks, art, mugs). It also has, connected to it, a museum and store, as we see her in front of the cash register at some point. I’m actually disappointed they used that image because it sort of cheapens what she is doing (i.e., is it a passion, or is it merely a business gimmick?). Part of her “collection” is the skeleton of the first reported mutilation, which is a horse named “Snippy.” Whether it’s really that particular skeleton is not verified in the film, but taken on the now-owner’s word. But that’s not to say there is not a certain level of skepticism on the part of a couple of the many people interviewed throughout
I find it deeply interesting that a common theme of Small Town Monsters’ films is matching the cryptid with its environment. For example, for their recent release titled On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey (2021; reviewed HERE) it was the mountains and forests in northern New York State, and western Vermont and Massachusetts. In this case, it’s both the Rocky Mountains and the Prairies to the east that lead up to them. The scenery here is beautiful for both, aided by the skillful use of drones to give a wider perspective; perhaps to give the viewer an idea of what it would look like to a UFO?
As always, the animation recreations are fun to watch, and vary in “realistic” levels. While there are some that show several “ships,” apparently most of the sightings, to start, as expressed by eyewitnesses, are more lights than objects, and some of the animation reflects that. The film lets the viewer decide if the images are manipulated or “genuine” footage, rather than announcing them.
Like most of the cryptid documentaries by anyone, Breedlove and others, there is no real evidence of its material focus’ existence, be it ghosts, Sasquatch, UFOs, etc., only first and second-hand accounts and stories, often bolstered by re-enactments. But still, that does not take anything away from the enjoyment level of the topic, especially if one is interested in that particular subject. Rather than sneer at these people who seem deluded, and knowing the lack of reliability of eyewitnesses, I am still drawn to these things, and Breedlove is a master at telling a story. Shannon also does a great job giving these stories life.
The documentary is available on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and FandangoNOW.
IMBD Listing HERE
