The Fourth Kind

Synopsis

In Nome, Alaska where since 1960; a large number of the population has been reported missing every year and Psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler unintentionally, discovers some of the most unsettling evidence of alien abduction ever documented, after videotaping sleep disorder sessions with traumatized patients of hers. The archived footage is incorporated into a dramatization for film. There are several accounts of distressed people being visited by alien figures with identical details, which are investigated throughout the film for validity purposes.

 

Review

It’s hard to expect anything original or interesting from a movie about alien abductions. People go to sleep. They disappear. Then turn up butt-naked on the highway with no clue how they got there. Fortunately, The Fourth Kind was not an afternoon wasted on yet another boring alien abduction film. It had me jumping and jerking in my seat, and I was peeking through one squinted eyelid at other times and saying dayummm! This movie is extremely eerie, weird, creepy, and worth a viewing.

This story revolves around psychiatrist Dr. Abigail Tyler, who is helping her deceased husband’s patients deal with a sleep disorder. There are just too many in the small Alaskan town to be mere coincidence. These routine sessions turned into something so much more when Tyler starts using hypnosis to uncover repressed memories. Let’s just say you do not want Abigail to hypnotize you this century.

The Fourth Kind is a film inside of a film. Milla Jovovich (A Perfect Getaway) portrays an actor playing Dr. Abigail Tyler in “the film”, with some no-name, Ooohdinarey-looking chick that was just traumatic looking portarying the “actual” Abigail in the “real” archived footage of her patients sessions, which we are paired with the actor portrayals on screen.

Yup, I know…it’s a lot to grasp. You just have to see it to know what I’m trying to say. I actually liked the effect. It was interesting to see how the director put the scenes and “footage” all together.

What does the title mean? Well, there are levels of measurements that were established way back in 1972 for alien encounters:

• An encounter of the first kind is when a UFO is sighted. I bet a lot of people thought they had this type of encounter when they saw the Heenes air balloon flying around when all of America thought their little 6-year-old son was up there. Mmm hmm. Yeah, the little rascal was right in his house. He had me so worried and wasting my precious time.
• When evidence is collected it’s considered an encounter of the second kind.
• The third kind is when contact has been made with extraterrestrials.
• And the fourth kind is abduction. Now you know what this film is about.

TANGET: You could use this same type of scale for close encounters of mankind:

• The first kind is when you see what looks to be a fine young man across the room.
• When you see evidence that he’s married, that’s the second kind.
• The third kind is when he still tries to rap to you, wedding ring and all.
• And the fourth kind is when you realize his breath is kicking on top of things.

Anyhoo, there were excruciating and very irritating sounds in this movie that can just give you a headache. Some of them sounded like 100, super long, Mrs. Ganush's fingernails going down a chalkboard in 5.1 surround sound. All the loud screaming in the film irritated me, but did add some realism. My goodness...my poor ears. The screams were incredibly bloodcurdling, and there’s some “distorted footage” effects that still manage to show enough to make you want to look away.

I give this movie a solid 3 reels. If I missed it at the theater, I wouldn’t feel like I’ve got to see it on the big screen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good for a quick Saturday afternoon flick that would hold your interest.You’ll definitely talk about it once it’s over. I know I did. The ending credits are another catalyst for some communicato afterwards.

Milla mentions in the movie there are more missing people cases in Nome, Alaska than anywhere else. If that were true and I was living there, and also witnessed some crazy things awake or asleep, you’d best BELIEVE homesista would pack her coats, favorite wigs and move to Florida. Get as far away from Nome, Alaska as she could.

My question to you is, do you believe in alien encounters of any level?

My Rating ~ 3 Reels

Audience Rating (What's Yours?)