Movie Review: The Fourth Kind

Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) is a psychiatrist in Nome, Alaska. She has been seeing a number of patients that have been having trouble sleeping. All of them have very similar symptoms and are waking up at comparable times in the night. In an attempt to help them, Dr. Tyler uses hypnotherapy to determine if there is any pattern between the patients. What she discovers may not be medical in nature, but other-worldly.

Well, it’s been an interesting few weeks when it comes to reality/ thriller style films. Paranormal Activity frightened viewers with its Blair Witch style of filming. Not to be outdone though, is The Fourth Kind. I found this film to be very fascinating. I love the idea of life on other worlds, but it can get very bland. Directors tend to make alien films more about gore and shock than about the alien life itself. The Fourth Kind shows us more of an angle that isn’t addressed: people that have been abducted but don’t know it, and on top of not knowing it have been forced into some kind of psychological trap that hurts them for trying to discover the truth. You get the majority of your abduction-related films with someone trying out alien life right away and they don’t let the plot simmer.  With this movie, its pace is very nice and they throw us some curve balls with the complexity of the Tyler family. I like layers in my films and with a movie such as this, it is a welcomed necessity.

However, here is the rub. This movie is far less fascinating if the details are not based in reality. The big kicker for this film is that it is based on true events, some of which they supposedly show us throughout the movie. There is this brilliant footage that they show side by side in the picture where it’s supposed to be the real video recordings from the actual case studies synced with the reenactments by the cast. I guess they wanted us to see what was shot verses what really happened. Here is where it gets a little strange. The footage from the case studies can only be described as eerie. If it is the real deal, then this film makes a very good argument for the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.  Hell, it could even borderline on the possibility of demonic possession, but that’s another film entirely. Fellow Fanboyz writer David Williams and I have tried to look into the validity of these accounts, and though we are in no way investigative reporters, we could not find anything conclusive to back up or discredit these events. There was only one image in the “real” footage that I questioned, but everything else seemed as real as I have ever seen in a film.

I am not entirely sold on the way that they are trying to sell the film. I did find it interesting, but I don’t know if I would feel so if the case study recordings turn out to be false. I recommend watching it and making your own choice, and we would love to hear your thoughts. Also, if there is any light that you can shed on the validity of these accounts please share them with us and our readers.

Fanboyz Grade: B