''The Phoenix Incident'' is a 2016 American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

horror film written and directed by first time director Keith Arem, and starring

Yuri Lowenthal Yuri Lowenthal (born March 5, 1971) is an American voice actor known for his work in cartoons, anime, and video games. Some of his prominent voice roles in video games include Peter Parker / Spider-Man in various video games associated with t ...

Troy Baker Troy Edward Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. He is known for his numerous roles in video games, including Yuri Lowell in ''Tales of Vesperia'' (2008), Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' franchise, Booker DeWi ...

Liam O'Brien Liam Christopher O'Brien (born May 28, 1976) is an American voice actor, writer, and director. He is a regular cast member of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' actual play series '' Critical Role,'' playing Vax'ildan ("Vax"), Caleb Widogast, and Orym. ...

Michael Adamthwaite Michael David Adamthwaite (born September 1, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is credited with providing the voice for many characters in various anime series. He is also known for portraying the Jaffa (Stargate), Jaffa List of recurring alien charac ...

, Jamie Tisdale and

Brian Bloom Brian Keith Bloom (born June 30, 1970) is an American actor and screenwriter. He co-wrote the screenplay and starred in '' The A-Team'', produced by brothers Tony and Ridley Scott. Bloom is the voice of Captain America in '' The Avengers: Earth ...

. Presented as a documentary found footage film based on real events, it is set in the present day and focuses upon an alleged conspiracy behind the

Phoenix lights The Phoenix Lights (sometimes called the "Lights Over Phoenix") were a series of widely sighted unidentified flying objects observed in the skies over the southwestern U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada on March 13, 1997. Lights of varying des ...

, a mass UFO sighting which occurred in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, and

Sonora, Mexico Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital (and largest) city of which is ...

, on Thursday, March 13, 1997. On that date, lights of varying descriptions were reported by thousands of people between 19:30 and 22:30 MST in a space of about 300 miles (480 km) from the Nevada state line, through Phoenix, to the border of

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. The film focuses on the main events in and around Phoenix during this time.

Plot

''The Phoenix Incident'' begins with the

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

observation of a

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

, moving across the screen before cutting to a series of military firefight engagements in

Damal Damal, formerly Petereke, is a town in Ardahan Province of Turkey, on the road from Kars to Posof. It is the seat of Damal District.Dayr Az Zawr, Syria and

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, Banadir, Somalia, often with alien cries heard during these engagements. Expository text explains that, since 1997, the United States military has been engaged in a covert war against "forces of unknown origin", and that "57 incidents have spread across Asia, Europe and Russia." It goes on to note that

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

notes that alien invasion forces will reach populated areas within two years, and that the conflict itself is in retaliation for an incident in Phoenix, Arizona on March 13, 1997. The film notes that it is dedicated to "members of the intelligence community who provided evidence that made the film possible". Tying into the film's viral campaign, the film introduces the disappearance of four Arizona men. Heaven's Gate cult member Walton S. Gayson (Adamthwaite), initially held as a suspect in the murder of the four men, was taken into federal custody. Later, the search for the men was suspended, concluding that the four men had been killed in a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

attack, a conclusion which the local medical examiner denies, but was ordered to list as the cause of death. The documentary style film moves between two complementary plotlines; the first is a filmed interview with an unidentified Air Force pilot who exposes, despite likely repercussions, the truth about what happened to four missing civilian men on the night of the Phoenix Lights. The second plotline comes from recovered filmed footage ("The Lauder Tapes") by one of four men: Glenn Lauder (Lowenthal), Mitch Adams (Willingham), Ryan Stone (Baker) and Jacob Reynolds (O'Brien). Lauder cannibalizes several different cameras, even duct taping a camcorder to the side of his

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourn ...

helmet. It is from these cameras that most of the footage is derived. The interviewed officer details how the military detected the approach of a triangular-shaped object in the tail of the passing Hale-Bopp comet until it began to descend into Earth's atmosphere over Arizona. Later, the object goes missing and two KH satellites in the area had stopped transmitting. The men decide to go out to the foothills by the

Sierra Estrella The Estrella Mountains or The Sierra Estrella (, , ) is a mountain range located southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Much of the range falls within the Gila River Indian Reservation, but of BLM land is protected as the Sierra Estrella Wilderness, ...

to spend time together and ride their ATVs. Mitch, whose brother was a former

US Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

is excited about the trip, his friends substantially less so. While packing their truck for the trip, the men notice a growing military air presence in the area, first helicopters and then F-15 fighter jets and A-10's, as well as odd atmospheric disturbances. When they embark on their trip in Ryan's truck, it suddenly breaks down in the foothills. Jacob tries to repair the damage to the vehicle while the others try to find someplace to call for

Roadside assistance Roadside assistance, also known as breakdown coverage, is a service that assists motorists, motorcyclists, or bicyclists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that either cannot be resolved by the motorist, or has prevented them from ...

. They come across a desert compound, protected by an electrified fence, owned by the reclusive Walton S. Gayson. A highly agitated Gayson accosts Jacob at the truck, warning him that they must leave immediately. Despite the warning, the men set off in their ATVs into the foothills anyway. Further questioned, the Air Force officer details how several " bogeys" had entered

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is t ...

before turning towards Phoenix. By this time, several eyewitnesses had already seen the multiple crafts, and Operation Snowbird goes into effect: a diversion operation to distract the civilian population with decoy flares while an aerial

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

ensues between Air Force jets and the unidentified craft at the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. The four men witness the dogfight when an alien craft is disabled and crashes into a nearby hill. Mitch's brother had been killed in a helicopter crash, so he decides to try and render aid to what he presumes is a human pilot. Upon reaching the downed craft, before the military can respond, the men are attacked by defensive creatures that faintly resembles man-sized scorpions; Jacob is severely injured in the attack. Their ATVs are destroyed by the aliens, and they take refuge in Gayson's compound. Gayson has been awaiting the coming of the creatures for years to be abducted and taken to a "higher plane" of existence, so he turns off the electric fence, letting the creatures in. In the final act, Jacob is abducted, and Mitch is ripped apart in an attempt to defend Ryan and Glenn, who are almost rescued by a military helicopter. After the helicopter is shot down by one of the UFOs, Ryan distracts the creatures before being dragged off by one of them and Glenn runs into a vehicle to hide from them, before making a run for it alone. However, just as it seems he has escaped, one of the aliens attacks him. As his helmet flies off, Glenn is killed out of the view of the camcorder before the creature disappears, and one of the alien spacecraft slowly leaves the area. Gayson later finds the helmet and recovers the camcorder's film. In a post-credits scene, it is revealed that Gayson escaped prison shortly after his interview. In the next scene, a clean-shaven Gayson douses himself in gas and sets himself on fire, preparing to 'rise above this world". The scene leads viewers into the online viral campaign, revealing how the Lauder Tapes were discovered.

Cast

Production

Before production and release of the movie, Director Keith Arem, noted for his work in video games and graphic novels, began a four-year long

transmedia Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of adapting a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. From a product ...

marketing campaign, using twenty hidden websites, social media accounts, and blogs to drop "digital breadcrumbs" about a "vast military cover-up over the disappearance of four friends off-roading in the mountains near Phoenix after witnessing the U.S. military shoot down a UFO". This viral marketing campaign was so effective that the U.S. Department of Justice and Arizona military officials investigated the film makers, and many news media outlets such as '' The Mirror'' (a British tabloid),

Yahoo News Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...

(a US-based

news aggregator In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, content aggregator, feed reader, news reader, or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates digital Content (media), content such as online newsp ...

) and the ''

Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busi ...

'' (an Indian English-language daily newspaper) reported the viral marketing campaign as real news events.

Release

''The Phoenix Incident'' was initially theatrically released with Fathom Events on March 10, 2016. An international version of the film was pre-released in the UK on September 7, 2015. The filmmakers partnered with gaming, UFO, and horror sites to promote the film's viral campaign, and released over 4 hours of additional content and story from the film. The film was awarded Best Feature at the Capital Cities Film Festival, Best Feature at the ICE Film Festival, and Vision Award at the Boston SciFi Film Festival. The movie was nominated for Best Horror at the Palm Beach Film Festival, and showcased at the BIFAN International Film Festival in South Korea. The film was featured at the 69th Roswell Festival in New Mexico. The film won Best Narrative Feature and Best Director at the Los Angeles Underground Film Festival. The film makers utilized social media sites and sponsors, including Fathom Events, AMC, Hollywood Today, Regal, Fandango, Celestron, Shazam, and Lootcrate to distribute hidden content and supplemental clips from the motion picture and viral campaign. Director Keith Arem announced that an interactive/investigation version of the film as an iOS app would be released to contain all of the hidden content from the entire campaign. The Phoenix Interactive UFO Investigation App was released in July 2019 at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

. In January 2023, the film makers released “Phoenix Incident Festival Cut”, containing revised scenes and visual improvements. The film won Best Director at the 2023 Stanley Kubrick Awards, along with 49 other film festivals wins including Best Horror, Best Thriller, and Best First Time Film maker

References

External links