The Manhattan Alien Abduction (Vivienne Perry & Daniel Vernon, 2024)
The Manhattan Alien Abduction tells the incredibly fascinating and complex story of hypnotherapist and ufologist Budd Hopkins and the alleged alien abductee Linda Napolitano, but, foremost, it explores the intense conflict between Napolitano and Hopkins’s ex-wife, documentary filmmaker Carol Rainey.
“In 1989, New York City resident Linda Napolitano said she was abducted by alien outside her high-rise apartment. The occurrence, known as the Brooklyn Bridge Abduction, was reportedly witnessed by over 20 people and became highly publicized. But did it really happen, or was it all a hoax? From Vivienne Perry (Meet Me in the Bathroom) and series director Daniel Vernon (Nail Bomber: Manhunt), The Manhattan Alien Abduction investigates the case and features an interview with Napolitano.”
It’s a story with many layers, which probably is a hoax, with dashes of — I believe — the confirmation bias from Hopkins and the belief system he got trapped in during his research, which involved regression sessions based on an overuse of leading questions and uncritical thinking. No one has shaped the abduction mythology as much as Hopkins, with many parts (for example the hybridization hypothesis) coming directly from him unknowingly manipulate the experiencers.
I feel that The Manhattan Alien Abduction presents the story fairly, but I wish it delved even deeper into the other witnesses and the possible existence of “Richard” and “Dan.” (Carol speculated they were actors or possibly fictional characters from Linda’s vivid imagination.) It also leaves some of the other abductees hanging, and I wished for a more in-depth look at their relationship and opinions about Hopkins and the regression sessions themselves.
It quite feels like this could have been a much longer documentary, instead of the three pretty short episodes. The story itself is so much more complicated, it feels so anyway and everyone in front of the camera, including Rainey, is portrayed both with their darker and brighter sides exposed. This make me think there’s so much more to tell.
With that said, it’s a very solid recommendation from yours truly. No matter one’s perspective on the phenomena, it’s an intriguing tale of truth and lies, the pitfalls of belief, and the complexities of human psychology.
The documentary is currently available on Netflix. Well, at least until we know if Linda Napolitano and the estate of Budd Hopkins succeeds in them suing Netflix for defamation. “An embittered, alcoholic ex-wife hell bent on revenge against her husband”, as the complain says in regards to Carol Rainey according to Forbes. Whatever happens, the story of the Manhattan alien abduction will live on for a long, long time.
Fred Andersson is a Swedish researcher and writer with over twenty years of experience in commercial television and the author of Northern Lights: High Strangeness in Sweden, out now from Beyond the Fray Publishing. Join him on Twitter and Instagram.
