A Terminator Star's Creepy Alien Abduction Movie Is A Must-Watch For Sci-Fi Fans

In 1993, two years after Robert Patrick terrified moviegoers as the T-1000 in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," he led the cast of an altogether different science fiction film. "Fire in the Sky" is a creepy alien abduction movie about what happened to real-life logger Travis Walton (D.B. Sweeney) back in November 1975, when he vanished from the Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests in Arizona. Patrick plays Mike Rogers, his future brother-in-law. He and his co-workers go back to town absolutely petrified, telling tales of Travis having been abducted by a bright light in the sky. Everyone assumes foul play — until Travis turns up naked and confused, confirming their story. 

"Fire in the Sky" is more restrained than your average thriller, which is partially why it's one of the best alien movies of all time. While the abduction sequences are some of the most intense ever put to film, most of the movie is about the choking, small-town paranoia that grips everyone in the wake of the event. The film is all the more unsettling because it's apparently based on a true story, though that depends on who you ask. "Internally, I had my own reservations about the truth of it all," director Robert Lieberman told The Companion. "My gut feeling had it that Travis was so much smarter than those other guys, that it started out as a gag. They probably laced their beer at the end of the day with a little acid or something and then they put on a show for these guys and they believed it."

If you only know Robert Patrick from "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" or as Hawkins in "The Night Agent," then "Fire in the Sky" proves the actor's true range. The role of Mike Rogers was a departure for him at the time, so much so that Robert Lieberman wasn't sure Patrick would be right for the part. The director was skeptical when the casting team brought Patrick up, largely because he had seen him at the emotionless T-1000 and wasn't convinced he had the chops. "They went, 'I think he does, you should see him.' I went, 'Alright, I'll see him.' The door opens to the casting room and this guy comes in and he's totally effusive! And I fell in love with the guy," Lieberman told The Companion.

Patrick spoke to the same publication about making the movie, revealing that he found it hard to get work after playing the T-1000 because he'd been typecast as a robotic killer type. He didn't work for over a year as he continually turned down roles of that nature, waiting for something different to present itself. When the "Fire in the Sky" audition came along, Patrick pulled out all the stops. "I decided to grow my hair long and gain weight and just really hide from the physical recognition of that ['Terminator'] character," he said. "It was a very emotional audition." He had one more thing going in his favor — as he circled the role, Patrick discovered that he and Mike Rogers are actually distant cousins! It's no wonder he's so convincing in the role.