The Phenomenon - A Compelling Case for the World's Biggest Mystery

There is no shortage of documentaries and series about the strange phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects and the extraterrestrial visitors that may be piloting them. Everything from Ancient Aliens to UFO Hunters to The X-Files have attempted to study and make sense of what is truly a staggering amount of sightings and experiences. The idea of aliens coming to our planet, and how governments may be hiding knowledge of it, has captured the imagination of people for decades - possibly even centuries. But no piece of media has ever chronicled the history of UFOs, or made quite as convincing of a case for their validity, as well as James Fox’s The Phenomenon.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is among the many interviewees.

Fox’s documentary - told through archived footage and newspaper articles, understated reenactments, and interviews both old and new - attempts to piece together a chronological timeline of events that reveal the origins of UFOs, their place in culture, and the responses from the U.S. government all the way back from World War II to the present day. There are various types of accounts that the film spends time on; everything from astronauts to farmers to school children to highly vetted military officers. Some may be more obviously credible than others, but the way The Phenomenon compiles them together makes one thing impossible to deny: The eerie similarities between these various stories.

The film, narrated by Peter Coyote, gives a comprehensive look at how the UFO craze swept the nation starting in the late 1940s to the 1960s. Through interviews with the men involved, it dives deep into Project Blue Book, the official study by the U.S. Air Force that analyzed UFO-related data and cases and attempted to determine if they were a threat to national security. Alongside the stories of Kenneth Arnold and others such as the Westall School sighting, the documentary shows how UFOs began to receive worldwide attention. For those not overly familiar with the subject, some of these moments in history, like the time the U.S. scrambled fighter jets against UFOs in what is known as the Invasion of Washington, may prove to be shocking.

Director James Fox with former U.S. Senator Harry Reid

Once The Phenomenon hits the 60s, it documents how a shift occurred in the mindset of people, where it became obvious that the government was covering up the extent of what they knew. What was once exciting and remarkable was now unnerving and suspicious, and the film gets this point across using the infamous Roswell Incident and the Lonnie Zamora Incident, which it dubs “The Case that Changed Everything”. It’s at this time that UFOs began to fade from the spotlight before briefly being revived by media attention in the 90s and then again in 2017 with Leslie Kean and her groundbreaking report for the New York Times, which the film spends a significant amount of time on with interviews with Kean and current government officials. 

It’s a fascinating and - thanks to the credibility of its numerous interviewees - extremely convincing case for the very real existence of UFOs and how they are likely extraterrestrial in nature. But Fox’s documentary also feels like it’s severely lacking in more modern evidence. When I was younger and fell into a deep internet rabbit hole of UFO photos, videos, and stories, what I found the most compelling were the recent cases and evidence. Events such as the 1997 Phoenix Lights, the Wales sightings, or the Chicago airport sighting are more likely to grab the attention of modern audiences. It almost feels like the film runs out of time to explore UFO related events of the 21st century, which is a shame, as many of those cases are some of the more interesting ones that could turn skeptics into believers. Not offering stories beyond the 60s seems like a missed opportunity, but Fox does dedicate a considerable chunk of time on a chilling 1994 Zimbabwe encounter, including new interviews with the witnesses over two decades later. 

James Fox and Harry Reid discuss the Pentagon UFO files

Despite that minimal flaw, The Phenomenon is one of the best and most persuasive documentations of the UFO, well, phenomenon. It’s an engaging and extensive look at what could be considered the most significant mystery of our time, and it wisely sticks to only the most credible and well-documented cases and testimonials. Guaranteed to get the attention of even the most skeptical of people, it delivers a stupefying and undeniable wealth of evidence for alien visitation, and offers speculation on why it might even be happening in the first place.