The Aurora Encounter

I live one town over from Aurora, TX. I read about his movie recently in the local newspaper. It is based on a "true story." Local legend holds that the ship did crash, and the alien was buried near Aurora.

It is pretty bad. Jack Elam some how pulls off the really bad dialog, and it is interesting to see an adult Spanky.

The plot of this movie is based on a supposed UFO crash that occurred in 1897 in Aurora, Texas (now debunked by most people who study the subject of UFO's) where it is claimed a UFO hit a windmill and the pilot was given a "Christian Burial" by the townsfolk of the Texas Community. (Such stories were common in 1897, where reporters just made stuff up rather than actually report the news, unlike what happens today cough:not really:Cough)

The plot, such as it is, is confused and non-linear. The acting is sub-par at best.

It starred Spanky McFarland of Little Rascals fame in one of his few adult roles (and proves why the guy's career ended at puberty). It also starred a young actor who got the role of the alien because of the Make A Wish foundation and his condition of premature aging.

The Special Effects are laughable. (You can tell the "Flying Saucer" was in fact a vehicle lifted on some kind of crane.)

How the guys at Mystery Science Theatre missed this one is beyond me. It was right up their alley.

Thirty years ago I read a historical account in UFO literature where a spacecraft crashed into a windmill in a small Texas town back in the late 19th century. The townsfolk found a dead little occupant in the wreckage and gave him a "decent Christian burial". This is the jist of the original story that inspired this film. Everything else in the movie has been added for dramatic effect. One other thing---the place where the alien was supposedly buried has this kind of weird colored fungus or lichen that grows on top of the ground that can't be killed. I saw a picture of the landowner kneeling by the spot. I guess no one ever thought to exhume the grave to find out the truth of the whole matter. And whatever happened to the spaceship wreckage? I thought the movie was very long, dry and boring, the only exception being the little alien scenes.

This movie appears to try and cash in on the success of "E. T." by telling the story of a (supposedly true) occurrence in Texas almost a century earlier. A little alien lands near a Texas town and befriends many of the locals. Unfortunately his arrival attracts the attention of a few of the wrong people, and things go downhill from there.

The story of "E. T.", retold in a time when there was no 20th century technology to work with - not to mention no Reese's Pieces with which to lure anyone out of the woods - could have made for a most interesting movie. Unfortunately, this feature is woefully slow-paced, and the ending is very much a downer. If the story is in fact true, the writers might have been forgiven for taking a little artistic license to pick up the pace a little and keep the audience's attention. The scenes of the alien's interaction with the townspeople (most notably Jack Elam's character) have some magic to them, but the film as a whole just never quite comes together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - I would like to give some history on this movie - it was not, as some may believe, and exploitation of a sick child, rather it was the granting of a dying wish of a child, Mickey Hays, to be a movie star. For that reason alone, I applaud this movie, and as hokey as it is, I enjoyed the positive message of the little alien coming to Earth and interacting with the citizens (and animals) of Aurora, Texas. Even though it has a sad ending, it also had many laughs, and several positive messages.