{"id":1978964,"date":"2025-08-25T16:34:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1978964"},"modified":"2025-08-25T16:34:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:34:15","slug":"hulus-blood-myth-follows-violent-rampage-in-alaskas-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/hulus-blood-myth-follows-violent-rampage-in-alaskas-north\/","title":{"rendered":"Hulu’s ‘Blood & Myth’ Follows Violent Rampage In Alaska’s North"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Our interview basically begins with an Alaskan proverb.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey say the veil between myth and reality is very thin up north,\u201d James Dommek Jr. tells me as we talk about \u201cBlood & Myth<\/a>,\u201d an upcoming Hulu documentary about a series of crimes in an In\u0303upiaq village in northern Alaska. Dommek serves as the executive producer and narrator of the film, which airs on Hulu in September. The documentary, set in Alaska\u2019s most remote regions and blending true crime and Native folklore, is adapted from the 2019 Audible original \u201cMidnight Son\u201d; it is directed by Kahlil Hudson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBlood & Myth\u201d tries to untangle how Teddy Kyle Smith, an In\u0303upiaq man who was well-known in his community, experienced a supposed encounter with the supernatural \u2014 and ended up going on a violent rampage. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"When<\/picture><\/div>\n
When a series of shocking violent crimes shatter a remote native village in Northern Alaska, James Dommek Jr. embarks on an investigation into its a frightening paranormal connection.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Smith is a former Marine who volunteered with elders, taught children traditional In\u0303upiaq skills and found work as an actor. His part in the 2011 coming-of-age drama \u201cOn The Ice\u201d became a point of pride among his people, who saw the film as an authentic representation of their culture after decades of stereotypical portrayals by outsiders. After the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, it seemed like Smith was opening doors for the In\u0303upiaq to have their own voice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt seemed like he had so much going for him,\u201d Dommek says in the documentary. \u201cHow can someone just go off the rails like that?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So Dommek was stunned when, in September 2012, he heard Smith had shot two men during a weekslong manhunt that began when he fled the scene of his mother Dolly Smith\u2019s death. Smith is currently serving 99 years in prison for attempted murder. His mother\u2019s death was ruled \u201cundetermined.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Smith was arrested<\/a> 40 miles away from his home in Kiana, Alaska, why he lost control was far from the biggest mystery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There was more than one mystery after Teddy Kyle Smith went on the run following the death of his mother in 2012.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Dommek became fixated on the incident. With a close relationship to the In\u0303upiaq community in Kiana, Dommek began collecting exclusive information. His once-improvisational investigation reached a turning point when he was tipped off about tapes from Smith\u2019s first interrogation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the recordings, Dommek heard Smith make a blood-chilling claim: He had been in the company of In\u0303ukuns \u2014 malevolent, sometimes magical \u201clittle people\u201d only spoken about in myths and whispers in In\u0303upiaq culture. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Accounts of In\u0303ukuns were nothing new to Dommek, who was warned about the creatures while growing up in nearby Kotzebue, Alaska. Though it was taboo to talk about them, the nomadic wildlings were said to loom in the darkness, menacing communities and sometimes even taking control of those who strayed too far from home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At that point, Dommek realized that telling this story was a matter of fate and not chance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI had all these pieces in my hand and I\u2019m like, what do I do?\u201d he told celebrity.land. \u201cAnd it became clear that if I don\u2019t tell this story, I\u2019m going to regret it the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dommek \u2014 who is the great-grandson of In\u0303upiaq master storyteller Paul Monroe \u2014 also saw the project as a way to care for his culture and its history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t going to be me, I knew that there were other people, outsiders, who were trying to tell this story,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While poring over court documents and speaking with people who knew Smith, a more complicated version of the respected community man began to emerge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt seemed like he had so much going for him. How can someone just go off the rails like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

– filmmaker James Dommek Jr.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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People who knew him recalled memories of heavy drinking and erratic behavior. Some saw him struggle to reconcile his success outside of the In\u0303upiaq world with a life that held true to their traditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou have to give up a part of yourself to function in this new world,\u201d Dommek says in the film.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Straddling that line between his roots and Westerners\u2019 society struck something deep within Dommek, who admits to feeling that same disconnect as lived hundreds of miles from home, partying and playing music in Alaska\u2019s largest metropolis, Anchorage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI felt like I was slowly erasing my own self,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt like I was losing who I was.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As his yearslong investigation brought him back home, Dommek realized he would never complete his project unless he changed paths.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou gotta do it right, to honor the story, to the people, to the land,\u201d he said of his decision to stop drinking. \u201cTo my great-grandfather\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Though Dommek was hesitant about discussing his own demons in the film, he knew that that choice between cultures was a \u201cfork in the road\u201d all young Native men and women were forced to confront. He knew it was a choice that also haunted Smith.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"As<\/picture><\/div>\n
As Dommek gets deeper into his investigation, he learns how Smith told authorities about his encounter with In\u0303ukuns, malevolent, sometimes magical, \u201clittle people\u201d spoken about in In\u0303upiaq myths.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s just a part of our existence,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd what you choose to do has effects, it has ripples.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So as Smith continued to swear he was swayed by the In\u0303ukuns\u2019 dark influence during his tear through the Arctic, Dommek had a revelation: perhaps the little people\u2019s purpose was not to cause chaos but to remind Smith he was at a crossroads.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI think he misunderstood them,\u201d Dommek says in the film. \u201cI think that he thought they were trying to hurt him but maybe they were trying to save him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Though the existence of In\u0303ukuns may never be proven, their presence in I\u00f1upiaq culture and storytelling makes them real nonetheless. By blending folklore, fact and Indigenous experience, \u201cBlood & Myth\u201d reveals how our roots shape reality and why it is essential for communities to steer their own stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThese stories are meant to keep us alive, from going too far off, from getting lost,\u201d Dommek said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBlood & Myth<\/a>\u201d debuts Sept. 4 on Hulu.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n