"Hunt For The Skinwalker" was a game-changing book by journalist George Knapp and NIDS investigator Colm Kelleher PhD that blew open the paranormal plethora of scientist-baffling anomalies that have haunted a ranch in the Uintah Basin. While some choose to put their research to print, director Jeremy Corbell brings these stories to life via film, and his latest, highly-anticipated documentary "Hunt The Skinwalker."
“Hunt The Skinwalker” mostly mirrors the book, as it is narrated by Knapp's never-before released tapes. Corbell was able to gain rare access to the ranch in order to include the rare footage.
“ In some ways, it's been harder for the public to learn about the activities on the ranch than about some of our government’s most secret military bases. This is due to a number of reasons; the remote location, active security measures, tribal law, private ownership, liability concerns and even superstition,” said Corbell. “ There were obstacles, yes, and there has been a veil of secrecy over the ranch for over two decades, but that veil has been lifted by my film. Think about it - no footage shot during the NIDS (National Institute for Discovery Science) study has ever been formally released to the public. …It wasn’t easy to accomplish - getting this footage together and then jumping through hoops to get it out to the public. It’s something George Knapp wanted to do from the beginning (make a documentary), but he was asked to put that plan on hold. He honored the agreement he had made with NIDS, which meant that most of the footage and interviews that were shot over an 18-year period were put into a state of suspended animation. The only journalist allowed on the ranch while scientific studies were underway was George Knapp, and because of him our team was then given access.”
The area may never fully be explored like this again due to new ownership, so the documentary and the book may stand for now as the only documented reports on the most paranormal hotspot in America.
“From the Defense Intelligence Agency’s study of the property through AAWSAP (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program), to the NIDS study privately run by Robert Bigelow - to what’s going on now under the new ownership - we have learned more about the nature of the phenomenon from these scientific endeavors, than ever before in history,” said Corbell. “This kind of access to Skinwalker Ranch can never happen again. No one can replicate what we captured in this film because both the NIDS and BAASS (Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies) investigations have ended.”
The film also added some updated accounts, and tries to make a connection to the Pentagon UFO story.
“George Knapp kept the information about the government involvement in studying the activity at Skinwalker Ranch confidential for a decade, as he reveals in my film, “ Corbell said. “He knew what was coming and he saw it as an opportunity. Can you imagine? All those years he knew that the Defense Intelligence Agency studied the scientific and National Security implications of the activity observed on and around Skinwalker Ranch, and that our government was actively funding and pursuing the UFO mystery and lying about it to the American public. He then (reluctantly) deferred to the New York Times to break the story because he figured it would engage a wider audience if he let it play out that way. However, it turned out that the New York Times didn’t get the whole story out to the public, not even close. A few of the facts were unintentionally conflated because, after all, this is a very complicated story. That became an opportunity for us to tell the story more accurately and to prove the link between Skinwalker Ranch and the $22 million of funding allocated by the Department of Defense to study UFOs and associated phenomena. The film does that. It gives you the whole thing. I hope this film will be a vehicle that initiates a deeper public conversation about a far more disturbing reality. The US government not only tried to understand UFOs, but was (temporarily) willing to investigate a much broader spectrum of what we would call the paranormal. That fact alone is extraordinary, regardless of what the study uncovered.”
Leading up to the release, the film received heavy hype from the UFO community and garnered some mainstream attention along the ride.
“I have never received more insane physical threats and love letters in my life,” Corbell said. “I have never seen more push and pull on social media. It’s astounding. People are waking up in the middle of the night, and jumping out of bed to write me. …. I guess George Knapp was right when he said it was time to launch this mother(expletive).”
-By MIKE DAMANTE