Hunt for Skinwalker Ranch: Very Brief Impressions
The Hunt for Skinwalker Ranch — directed by Jeremy Corbell —is a 2018 documentary film that investigates the strange phenomena that have taken place over decades at Skinwalker Ranch (ie Sherman Ranch) — a 512-acre piece of land near Ballard, Utah.
There is a lot of great information in the film.
There is also a lot of not-so-great qualities.
I’ll start with the not-so-great.
While I did not watch this film for its artistic prestige, I cannot help but point out that some of Corbell’s creative choices were a bit tone deaf.
First: I cannot think of many filmmakers who make voice-overs work. There is obviously a time and a place for them. No doubt. But there is hardly ever a time when voice-overs should be used to communicate some deep philosophical disposition. That kind of thing drives me nuts.
Second: I think the UFO phenomenon — and all other strange phenomena — have gotten a bad rep… and for good reason. Unreliable (and “crazy”) people saturate these camps, but that does not mean all who are interested in the unusual are unreliable (or “crazy”). With that being said, I don’t think Corbell’s style does anything to build a reliable reputation in the eyes of the skeptics. This comes down to very simple creative choices. The most prominent thing is including suspenseful music that is exclusively used in B-film horror flicks. It comes off as a trick — a gimmick. And sometimes this is used ironically. I get that. And sometimes that can, creatively, be a good thing. But a documentary — at least in my view — should not be appealing to one’s creative tastes. I like to think documentaries are trying to convey some kind of truth. Shouldn’t the truth of a documentary and the story it’s trying to tell outweigh the creative portion? For me, there is not enough credibility involved in this film (from the creative side). You might say there is a lack of creative ethos.
The purpose of the film is to shine a light on a location that has been at the epicenter of strange phenomena for a very long time. Corbell needs to sell this point. He should not be trying to take creative shortcuts. He should be taking the long way around — even if that means being a little dry at times.
I’d probably have to give the film a 3 out of 10 for its creative choices.
But again, that is not the important part of the film. The important part — the interesting part— is the content, and in this way, I think the film succeeds.
On to the great things about the film.
We learn a lot throughout the film such as:
- The largest scientific study in history on paranormal activity took place at Skinwalker Ranch. (This study was done by Robert Bigelow’s research group.)
- UFOs, poltergeists, and other creatures have been sighted on the ranch.
- A light — said to be brighter than the sun — has been documented on several occasions.
- A phenomena that some can only be described as a wormhole has appeared on the grounds a number of times.
And these events are just a few. The film goes in depth with many of these events, and gathers first-hand accounts of what happened. The first-hand accounts are what make this film worth it for me. Without them, it is likely each testimony would be discarded as hearsay. And rightfully so.
It is not only the first-hand accounts, however, that make this a compelling film. Robert Bigelow and George Knapp hold the narrative together. It is, after all, these two men who have done some of the most research on the ranch.
George Knapp is an award-winning investigative journalist who has also done significant work on the Bob Lazar case. (You can check out the Bob Lazar documentary by Jeremy Corbell here.)
I knew nothing about Skinwalker Ranch when I initially watched the film. I felt I learned all the essential information for further research. And I think it’s useful to look at this film as a sort of primer. It doesn’t answer all the questions, but it does provide a backdrop.
I’d give this film an 8 out of 10 for its content.
You can watch the film here.
