The Aurora Encounter

The Aurora Encounter is a 1986 American Weird Western science fiction film directed by Jim McCullough Sr., written by Melody Brooke and Jim McCullough, Jr., and starring Jack Elam, Mickey Hays, Peter Brown, Carol Bagdasarian and Dottie West. It was based on the Aurora, Texas, UFO incident.

The Aurora Encounter
Theatrical poster
Directed byJim McCullough Sr.
Produced byJim McCullough, Sr.
Written byMelody Brooke
Jim McCullough Jr.
StarringJack Elam
Peter Brown
Carol Bagdasarian
Dottie West
Music byRon F. Lulio
CinematographyJoseph Wilcots
Edited bySheri Gallow
Distributed byNew World Pictures
Release date
  • March 1986 (1986-03) (U.S.)[1]
  • December 29, 1986 (1986-12-29) (West Germany)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Premise

At the end of the 19th century, a school teacher inherits a failing newspaper in a small town in the Wild West. She and a student discover an alien space craft and that the kind alien (Mickey Hayes) has begun a friendship with an older resident (Jack Elam) of the area and several of the town's children. She begins to write about the friendship, bringing unwanted attention to the alien.[2]

Cast

Carol Bagdasarian......... Newspaper Owner

Mickey Hayes .............Alien

George McFarland...... Governor

Peter Brown .............. Sheriff

Charles B Pierce ......... Preacher

Dottie West .......... Irene

Production

Mickey Hays, who was cast in the film in the role of the alien, suffered from progeria that gave him an unusual appearance.[1] Director Jim McCullough, Sr. remained close with Hays after the production until Hays's death at age 20 in 1992.[1] The Make A Wish Foundation helped in the casting of Hayes, whose wish was to be in a Hollywood movie.[3]

Reception

TV Guide gave the movie two out of five stars. While the story idea was good, the acting was inconsistent, the editing choppy and the special effects were laughable.[2] Creature Feature also gave the movie two out of five stars, finding it gentle but saccharine.[4]

Legacy

A long sample of Elam's dialogue regarding "Dr Neptune's delicious elixir" was used in hip hop artist DJ Shadow's acclaimed 1996 album Endtroducing..... and also the track "Chromium", produced by the artist Chrome and released on Platipus Records.

See also
  • Aurora, Texas UFO Incident

References
  1. Green, Paul (2016). Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games, (Revised ed.). McFarland. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-476-66257-2.
  2. https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-aurora-encounter/review/125963/
  3. http://westernsontheweb.com/watch-free-western-movies-online/various-assorted-western-actors-western-movies-to-watch-free/the-aurora-encounter-complete-movie-jack-elam-dottie-west-peter-brown-and-mickey-hays/
  4. Stanley, J (2000) Creature Feature: Third Edition
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