Not that long ago people used to go in the institution talking about such things. The emotional rollercoaster and the bond and the reality is something hard to grasp. This film is one of the first that really truly documents experiences from different people. The connection with the ETs is not a choice the but becomes the most important thing in their lives. The late John Mack puts his career on the line which gives total credibility to abductees. A landmark
2 Reviews
Good touch, bad touch, or entirely contact-less?
take2docs9 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Although there's no shortage of videos and films on UFOs in general, I don't know of too many that examine the so-called alien abduction phenomenon, a topic ordinarily associated with the former. Which is what makes TOUCHED one of those rare finds within the documentary genre, with its subject of focus being two people who claim to have been abducted by otherworldly beings.
The deceased Pulitzer Prize-winning psychiatrist slash abduction researcher, John Mack, is featured in this as well, what with his collaborative efforts in having worked with both of these alleged abductees in an attempt to make some sense of their experiences.
Interestingly, and what this film neglects in mentioning, is that Mack had his own 'contacts' -- entirely human ones, yes, but mysterious if not suspicious in nature, nonetheless. That he had close encounters with financier Laurance Rockefeller, for example, ought to strike one as very strange, indeed, for what interest would a member of the ruling elite have with reports of little gray aliens? Not unless the whole thing was simply part of an intelligence-driven psy-op, with Mack either having been a shill or a stooge. Whatever the case, Mack appears in this rather prominently, as someone who found himself entangled in what may very well have been nothing more than a socially engineered publicity stunt -- namely, a mini scandal surrounding this credentialed academic, concerning his study of a subject uncharacteristic of a Harvard professor.
As to what to make of the alleged 'close encounter' experiences claimed by the two human subjects of this documentary, your guess is as good as mine. Karin tells the story of waking up to bug-eyed beings in her room one night while in bed and of being introduced to alien-human hybrids aboard a spacecraft, tiny creatures whom she suspected were partly hers. She is either a brilliant actress or those teary-eyed emotions of hers are genuine. Peter relates the story of his sperm being taken during one of his own incredible adventures. Whether this was accomplished mechanically or by means of carnal relations with a sexy Space Sister, isn't made entirely clear, but was enough to arouse in his wife, Jamy, feelings of jealousy and betrayal, to the point that their marriage was a little rocky for a period.
We get scenes in which audio recordings of Peter's regression sessions with Mack are played, which leads one to ask just how reliable hypnotically retrieved memories are and if they can be trusted (think, leading questions, confabulation, etc). Worth noting, is that within the 'CEIV' literature it isn't uncommon to hear of reports in which potential eyewitnesses to these events are rendered temporarily unconscious, with their minds conveniently 'switched off,' and yet isn't it curious that for the actual 'experiencers' of these supposed encounters that they often claim to consciously remember at least some details of their abductions.
My own feeling is that both Karin and Peter are sincere in their sharing of their testimonies and are neither psychotic nor mendacious publicity-seekers. This does not mean to suggest, however, that what they think happened to them is necessarily the case. For all we know, there is a more earthly explanation to account for these traumatizing experiences of theirs, one possibly involving highly advanced mind-control technologies/covert military operations (read: 'MILABS') -- this, certainly a more plausible scenario than one based in questionable cosmic pluralism.
TOUCHED makes for an intriguing viewing whatever your religious or scientific views. With brief appearances by Alan Dershowitz, the late Vatican demonologist Monsignor Balducci, and the metaphysician Patrick Harpur, one of my favorite non-fiction writers and for me the highlight of the film.
The deceased Pulitzer Prize-winning psychiatrist slash abduction researcher, John Mack, is featured in this as well, what with his collaborative efforts in having worked with both of these alleged abductees in an attempt to make some sense of their experiences.
Interestingly, and what this film neglects in mentioning, is that Mack had his own 'contacts' -- entirely human ones, yes, but mysterious if not suspicious in nature, nonetheless. That he had close encounters with financier Laurance Rockefeller, for example, ought to strike one as very strange, indeed, for what interest would a member of the ruling elite have with reports of little gray aliens? Not unless the whole thing was simply part of an intelligence-driven psy-op, with Mack either having been a shill or a stooge. Whatever the case, Mack appears in this rather prominently, as someone who found himself entangled in what may very well have been nothing more than a socially engineered publicity stunt -- namely, a mini scandal surrounding this credentialed academic, concerning his study of a subject uncharacteristic of a Harvard professor.
As to what to make of the alleged 'close encounter' experiences claimed by the two human subjects of this documentary, your guess is as good as mine. Karin tells the story of waking up to bug-eyed beings in her room one night while in bed and of being introduced to alien-human hybrids aboard a spacecraft, tiny creatures whom she suspected were partly hers. She is either a brilliant actress or those teary-eyed emotions of hers are genuine. Peter relates the story of his sperm being taken during one of his own incredible adventures. Whether this was accomplished mechanically or by means of carnal relations with a sexy Space Sister, isn't made entirely clear, but was enough to arouse in his wife, Jamy, feelings of jealousy and betrayal, to the point that their marriage was a little rocky for a period.
We get scenes in which audio recordings of Peter's regression sessions with Mack are played, which leads one to ask just how reliable hypnotically retrieved memories are and if they can be trusted (think, leading questions, confabulation, etc). Worth noting, is that within the 'CEIV' literature it isn't uncommon to hear of reports in which potential eyewitnesses to these events are rendered temporarily unconscious, with their minds conveniently 'switched off,' and yet isn't it curious that for the actual 'experiencers' of these supposed encounters that they often claim to consciously remember at least some details of their abductions.
My own feeling is that both Karin and Peter are sincere in their sharing of their testimonies and are neither psychotic nor mendacious publicity-seekers. This does not mean to suggest, however, that what they think happened to them is necessarily the case. For all we know, there is a more earthly explanation to account for these traumatizing experiences of theirs, one possibly involving highly advanced mind-control technologies/covert military operations (read: 'MILABS') -- this, certainly a more plausible scenario than one based in questionable cosmic pluralism.
TOUCHED makes for an intriguing viewing whatever your religious or scientific views. With brief appearances by Alan Dershowitz, the late Vatican demonologist Monsignor Balducci, and the metaphysician Patrick Harpur, one of my favorite non-fiction writers and for me the highlight of the film.
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