Hunt for the Skinwalker (2018) User Reviews

The Archive Footage Makes It Worth Seeing

[BountyOfVoles · 4/10 · 17 September 2018]

Skinwalker Ranch is an incredibly interesting topic worthy of a feature documentary. Unfortunately Hunt For The Skinwalker is a very disappointing, disjointed, and flawed attempt.

The archive footage and interviews with George Knapp are, for the most part, excellent. Anyone familiar with Knapp's work should know what to expect, and it is incredibly disappointing that relatively little of this film is made up of the video footage.

Outside of this? The director has a fascination with the most mundane aspects of the area surrounding Skinwalker Ranch: UFOs. And while UFOs may be of interest to a lot of people, the fact there are much more interesting and strange recorded aspects entirely ignored in the newer footage really lets it down.

Another thing that lets the film down is the direction and editing. The simple lack of awareness to even consider a better mic on his camera is the least of his problems. He is overstated in wanting to present himself as more than he is when he could have shown himself as a better director if he simply constructed an 80 minute film from the aforementioned archive footage. Reiterating the points made by Knapp and the archive footage repeatedly after every scene made an already badly paced and poorly edited documentary into an outright slog.

Also, Robbie Williams turns up. So there's that for anyone who wants to change some lyrics to reflect the sinister occurences, because seeing Stoke's own Robbie as a possible skinwalker is...great. 'It's time to move cows' bodies' etc.

If you haven't read the book, it's worth a watch.

[torndownunit-507-429487 · 4/10 · 18 September 2018]

I can tell this project was a labour of love for the director. And for someone who hasn't read the book, this would be a good documentary to check out if you are interested in the subject. But despite the mentions early on in the film of 'how much has happened since the book was written', they barely touch on any of that. There is maybe about 10 minute of material a little past the midway point of the film that is anything new. While it's nice to actually see the property, there's plenty of ways to see it now on YouTube. Other than that, it's just endless witness stories, and really not much else. I am disappointed that I paid (and the price I paid) to see this as it doesn't remotely live up to the hype. The only reason I am giving it the rating I am is because for someone not expecting new information or wanting to read the book, it would serve as a good introduction to the topic. Though a fairly boring one.

Disturbing lack of data and sense

[gherson · 4/10 · 22 August 2021]

Beyond the disturbing paucity of evidence, is that of common sense. Even with >1 person involved, no one goes for a camera during their encounters, or puts the alien freak flesh in the freezer afterwards.

Now, I understand that "the wolf" seemed tame enough that "the dad" patted it on its head. But in almost the next sentence, the PhD lead investigator* relating the story 2nd hand tells us that this thing was "2-3x the size of a normal wolf", coming up to the shoulders of dad. Now, who in their right mind would casually pet such a beast, appearing out of nowhere? Answer: no one, by a long shot. So why was this presented by our PhD guide as completely reasonable behavior? Another unexplained phenomenon, one finally laying the filmmaker's excuses bare.

Lots of stars beyond 1 for the entertainment value and apparently honest effort.

*Dr Colm Kelleher, NIDS, Lead investigator, in minute 35.

Hard to watch

[spencertwede · 1/10 · 21 September 2018]

Some of the worst filmmaking I have seen recently. Endless b-roll with terrible exposure, music, bad audio and color intertwined with jarring titles and quotes. In the new interviews next to nothing interesting is said. The only redeemable parts of this documentary are the old footage that the director and writer got from someone else. Don't waste your time or money.

Poor production and no real or firsthand information

[qamanatssg · 1/10 · 21 September 2018]

I was so looking forward to this. There has been so much hype around this ranch and a sort of mystical secrecy. The movie was 75% too long, presented in an unscientific way and lacked any real information. It was all third hand information and hearsay. Considering that top scientists (PhD level), spent 10 years studying things, there was a distinct lack of data of any kind. The production was so slow and boring, I was waiting for it to finish.

What the?

[Cushman101 · 1/10 · 26 April 2019]

A ' hotbed ' for paranormal activity... 1000's of people with experiences.... 30 hours of footage... so where is it all!? Absolutely pointless documentary. It's a narration of what once happened. All fart, no smell. So glad I didn't buy this but rented it. I would have taken it back if bought. I'm actually writing this and it's half way through. The reviews are true- all hype and stories.

too long, too little going on

[fido23 · 21 September 2018]

While the topic is certainly interesting it should have been cut to a maximum of 45mins.The stylistic choice to write out quotes in big bold letters is boring and unnecessary at best and nothing else than a time killer. The first 20minutes are well known footage with no direct relation to Skinwalker and too much information how special this documentary is. Interviews had little information but where needlessly overdramaticed. (yawn) Probably best watched in x2 speed.

Riding on Knapp's Findings

[tmhughes768 · 6/10 · 24 July 2019]

As with the Lazaar Documentary, Corbell doesn't bring anything to the table. He seems to be a compiler of abstract information from the most credible source, in a very incredible situation. In this, it's Knapp's baby but Corbell sells it as his own which is off putting, you should never let your own ego get in the way of you believe in the story. Corbell literally uses Knapp's archive footage of the Skinwalker Ranch from the 1990's, uses Knapp's commentary from the time and puts it on the screen in chronological order. It's actual lazy plagiarism but with Knapp's blessing. I am struggling to see any talent Corbell has, maybe for manipulating people to do what he wants. Anyway, just buy Knapp's book.

A wishy washy Art House movie on a pretense of serious investigative film making.

[helen-77339 · 1/10 · 23 September 2018]

It quickly became apparent the driving force throughout this movie was the directors preoccupation with himself. It was a painful two hour watch of pointless, pretentious claptrap. If you're looking to learn about the peculiar events that have happened in years past on the ranch, this is not the movie for you. I'm being generous when I say there was perhaps thirty minutes of actual data relating to the topic. There is literally little to no content, substance and most definitely no scoops. Don't waste your time. Ten minutes on YouTube will do the trick.

Interesting enough

[diffguy · 6/10 · 20 August 2020]

Having never read the book or known much of the ranch, all of the footage and story was new information to me. It was riveting to hear the experiences of the NIDS team and the ranchers who lived there. Extremely weird stuff.

Unfortunately, the doc has a lot of shortfalls. They never show any of the physical measurement data that I presume NIDS has loads of would be the biggest one. Like magnetic field anomalies or test samples from the calf that was mutilated. The annoying text that flashed across the screen as people talked was also unnecessary. He probably did this in the place of B-roll footage, but why? He had 40 hours of Knapp tapes, he definitely could have put Knapp's footage of the ranch there while people talked.

As a narrator he does try to make it TOO MUCH. Like he's some poetic horror writer. That's not your audience please stop.

Overall, really fun to hear about NIDS and the 2017 interviews of people who experienced UFOs. It's worth watching if you don't know much about the ranch. Could have used more current day interviews though.

Wheres the 20 years of footage ?

[pjmarlo · 2/10 · 1 January 2019]

I've been folliwing Coast to coast am, the Bob Lazar story, George Knapp for 30 years.. And nows the chance for actual footage.. so where is it ? Just stories..

A solid documentary as an introduction to Skinwalker Ranch

[tobytheman · 8/10 · 16 November 2020]

I knew nothing of Skinwalker Ranch, the negative reviews here are a bit unfair. It's as if people are expecting some ground-breaking footage that we'd all have heard about if it existed, of course there's no hard evidence on tape. If there was we wouldn't be debating what's happening there still. Go in with realistic expectations and learn about the Ranch and all the goings on from witnesses etc. I particularly enjoy story telling, this documentary offers some great stories. It has a long run time but honestly, I didn't notice. All in all a great introduction to the Ranch.

factually incorrect in a few things.

[pandeluna · 6/10 · 28 May 2022]

At one point they point out that a family which had witnessed a large wolf encounter on the farm, had pointed out that it matched the description of a dire wolf, how ever the documentary shows a picture of a supposed dire wolf at being the size of a horse, this is a lie, historicly with fossils, we know that real dire wolves were no large than the largest of the modern day grey wolf, only about 3 feet tall and 5ft 5in long or 1 meter tall and just under 2 metters long, no where near horse sized.

Therefore the family saw something thats never been KNOWN to exist.

Other than that its just a lot of he said they said. But the history of the area seems to be accurate.

Slow and annoying.

[aaronbenwell · 2/10 · 1 October 2018]

Just watched over half of this documentary and are having to have a break from how dull it is. Really disappointed as we were looking froward to watching this since it was teased. Most of the documentary so far (just over an hour in) is basically a long trailer explaining things they are going to show you... but then never show you. The wording is long and poetic rather than factual, the testimonies are called evidence when there are no photographs or footage to back it up and while these testimonies are being monotonously read out the on screen footage is of people walking in slow motion or random shots of grass. Annoying camera work with annoying scripts. So disappointed. There's little else I can say about it. Literally nothing has happened in this documentary.

Disapointing

[ragnar_loki · 1/10 · 5 October 2018]

2 hours of nothing . A complete let down . I Had been looking forward to this and within the first half hour it was very clear that there was little to nothing of substance in this film . A complete waste if time .

Narrator: "Frequently things would happen just off camera"

[CelluloidCorsair · 2/10 · 22 September 2018]

Tedious documentary about a group paid by a very rich guy to investigate reports of spooky goings-on at a Utah ranch which he owned for some years.

If you can handle the overly dramatic music and inappropriate BIG WORDS POPPING UP ONSCREEN RANDOMLY, then the rest of the presentation is passable. I imagine the investigators purchased their 'Doctor' titles online because their conclusion is that their lack of any vaguely plausible evidence is down to the "entity" being conscious and deliberately hiding itself and any evidence. There are a couple of locals interviewed who are encouraged by the interviewer to agree that what they have seen must be supernatural or extraterrestrial. These would have made interesting 3 minute YouTube clips.

But the highlights are the nonsense one-liners spouted by the narrator and participants, here are my favourites:

"Imagine a place between shadow and substance" "This is a hunt. A hunt for answers to unformed questions" "I was like you... until I wasn't" "We used dogs as bio-sensors" "We live in the middle of some other kind of intelligence" "A chainsaw vanished while being used" "The high strangeness of these kind of objects" "Frequently things would happen just off camera"

And then Robbie Williams turns up desperately wanting to believe. These people have too much money and too much time on their hands.

Only for complete braindead suckers, or for those who love a laugh at/with the paranormal documentary genre. The truth is out there, but you won't find it here!

A lot of hype with no delivery

[blair-jurgens · 1/10 · 17 November 2018]

Ugghh. Boring. No footage of anything of interest.

Want to get hyped up for nothing?

[demitchell-16259 · 5 April 2020]

This movies for you! Just like a cold hand job this movie promises suspense action and real findings just to leave you blue balls and a total desire to shoot your television. This piece of trash will waste hours of your time with by hyping you up for nothing.

You have to wonder if the CIA/DHS had a hand in the reviews?

[thirdlawofmotion · 6/10 · 5 March 2023]

The facts are we have been lied to for several decades. There IS an ongoing conspiracy that has been hidden from the public. When the US government is spending $22 million investigating Bigfoot and paranormal activity maybe there's a clue here? I can only but guess some of the reviews here are from the CIA (Or the like). Sure, this isn't going to win any awards but it does shine a light on what is being hidden from society and IMO any clues are welcome. We sure aren't being told any of this by our governments which are supposed to protect us. I have to wonder if they know and are unable to protect us so say nothing on the subject.

As someone who has witnessed UFO's I know they are real I don't need any further proof to tell you something possibly sinister is happening here on Earth. You can bury your head in the sand and say it's all nonsense, man-made craft or whatever but that only points to you being brainwashed. There is so much anecdotal proof out there it's no longer an issue for debate. You simply need to spend less time watching rubbish on TV and do your own research.

I don't pretend to have the answers all I can tell you is something is going on. It might be civilizations from other planets, some type of paranormal activity (entity), time travelers, visitors from other dimensions or something far more profound. To those of you who say there is no proof remember this whatever it is has the ability to visit us it also has far more exotic technology that to us would seem like magic. Do not try to solve this puzzle using your limited human 21st century perspective. What you need to do is educate yourself and those around you as we have been misled. Makes me wonder why else they are lying to us about. Anyone remember WMD's?

There is a reason for everything and perhaps the truth is too macabre for us to live with. Perhaps we are being saved the horror of our reality and what can happen if we are unlucky enough to come in to contact with the bad side of this phenomena. Watch the 411 missing documentaries for more context.

BORINGGGGG

[skgimo · 1/10 · 30 September 2018]

Watching this documentary was a complete snooze fest. It's literally boring witness testimony with ZERO NEW EVIDENCE like the trailer claimed. You're better off watching a YouTube video about skin walkers because the documentary talks about the same thing.

This was pretty bad. Ancient Aliens S15E10 is way better

[fluffchop · 2/10 · 29 July 2021]

This had so much waffling on about nonsense and contains NO ACTUAL FOOTAGE of any strange phenomenon. It picks up in the second hour and starts to get to the heart of things. For a better understanding of what is going on at this ranch the episode of Ancient Aliens titled "The Mystery of Skinwalker Ranch" is more informative and takes half the time.

More Informed now.

[bucket2004 · 9/10 · 18 September 2018]

I came to this documentary from the point of not having any knowledge on the subject of skinwalker. I had heard of Geroge Knapp, but that was about it. I am so glad i watched this. Totally enjoyed and was educated on the subject. Is this a totally perfect documentary . Answer No. Is this a near perfect documentary on this subject. Answer Yes. Because i know far more about the subject than before I started watching this. Which is what a documentary should do, inform.

Jeremy Corbell annoying hipster

[prideufc83 · 1/10 · 22 July 2020]

This guy makes the worst documentaries. Always with his hipster twist with annoying sounds and bs psycho babble! Not a single piece of evidence in a 2hr video. At times the background noise frequency made my house rattle because of the hum. Even his bob lazar documentary is as annoying. With the same noises and even worse narration.

No evidence, just talk

[testing-05768 · 1/10 · 25 June 2019]

Overly dramatic, lots of build up but basically just a bunch of people telling stories with literally no evidence.

This was a real let down

A documentary about nothing.

[aaronghead · 2/10 · 12 April 2020]

It's basically just interviews and not all originally from the documentary. Even when it claims they had infrared camera footage and 30 hours of footage, were shown nothing.