MidWest WeirdFest Film Review: “On the Trail of UFOs”
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
The documentary series On the Trail of UFOs is the latest release from cinematic investigator of high strangeness Seth Breedlove and his Small Town Monsters team. Having earlier explored such phenomena as the Momo Monster and the Bray Road Beast, Breedlove and company set their sights on unidentified flying objects and those who have come into contact with UFOs and sometimes the beings piloting the crafts, as well as conspiracy theories and historical folklore about visitors from the skies.
The series follows host Shannon LeGro, an author (Beyond the Fray: Paramalgimation and Beyond the Fray: Bigfoot) and Into the Fray podcaster who focuses on the paranormal, as she, Breedlove, and the Small Town Monsters crew travel across the United States, visiting historical UFO and related sighting locations such as Area 51, North Carolina’s Brown Mountain, Sedona, Arizona. LeGro and Breedlove interview witnesses and investigators of unknown aerial phenomena (UAP), and one of the great strengths of this series — and indeed, all Small Town Monsters productions — is the respect shown to interviewees, no matter how far-fetched their stories may sound or how skeptical a stance they might take. First-hand accounts from experiencers, and reports and opinions given by local residents as well as authors, podcasters, and other investigators make for fascinating, provocative viewing.
Each episode looks at a different location and phenomenon such as the Kecksburg, Pennsylvania UFO incident and the Exeter, New Hampshire incident. LeGro and Breedlove often tie in older tales or reports, such as the fey people of Ireland and Native American lore about people who came from the skies, and comment on how older mythologies and stories are connected with modern reports of alien abduction and lights in the skies.
A few of the many subjects interviewed are aerospace engineer and UFO researcher Ronald Regher, paranormal investigator and author Stan Gordon, folklorist Eleanor Haskin, Monsteropolis podcast co-host (with Breedlove) and minister Mark Matzke, author/researcher Linda Zimmerman, and television/podcast host and author Ryan Sprague. On the Trail of UFOs is much more than a mere talking heads documentary, though. Each locale is gorgeously portrayed, and the documentary includes many alleged authentic, and recreated, shots of UFOs. Wonderful images also portray extraterrestrials and beings from folklore and mythology. Breedlove and team provide plenty of interesting visual delights to accompany the information conveyed in the series.
On the Trail of UFOs serves as both a thorough introduction to the UFO/UAP phenomenon for those new to the topic and as an in-depth current take for viewers with more knowledge about the subject. Always engaging and thought-provoking, as well as ceaselessly entertaining, this documentary series is highly recommended and another home run for Small Town Monsters.
On the Trail of UFOs screened at MidWest WeirdFest, which took place March 6–8 at Micon Cinemas Downtown in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The series will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 20. For more information, visit https://www.smalltownmonsters.com/.
For my When It Was Cool review of Small Town Monsters’ Invasion on Chestnut Ridge documentary, check out https://www.whenitwascool.com/invasion-on-chestnut-ridge-review.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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