Plot: Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) is a psychologist living in Nome, Alaska and struggling to deal with the recent death of her husband. Desperate to move forward and put some semblance of a life together Tyler decides to continue with her husband's hypnotherapy research involving strange "dreams" affecting several people in the Nome community. However, when Tyler's patients begin to exhibit delusional and violent behavior, and when recorded sessions demonstrate the use of ancient Sumerian dialects, Tyler's research, family, and life quickly spiral out of control.
Review: In many ways it's hard to know what to make of director Olatunde Osunsanmi's The Fourth Kind. On the one hand it comes across as a creepy, mostly entertaining "true" story of alien abduction in the vein of Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project. On the other hand it is also a crock of feces. None of the interspersed "documented footage" is real, ALL of the characters are fictious, and the film portrays Nome, Alaska as a hotbed of alien activity. Consequently, it makes the whole film seem like an outright deception and a rip-off. I couldn't help feeling a little cheated.
Yet despite all that, The Fourth Kind manages to bring all the coherent cinema aspects of story, tension, and setting into sharp focus. The pervasive sense of creepiness begins with Jovovich introducing the film in a blue light filled forest and continues until the film's disturbing final images. However, while the creepiness persists, it never really reaches a point that transitions over to real scariness. Uneasiness is more present than actual fear. Credit that to Osunsanmi's directing style which manages to create a pure emotion lasting 98 minutes. In many ways The Fourth Kind is more about setting a mood or tone than anything else.
Setting is crucial in this movie. Alaska is shown as an expansive, sweeping land; cold and beautiful in its scope and nature. Cinematographer Lorenzo Senatore is responsible for bringing this imagery to life. His broad sweeping wide shots demonstrate the vastness and wonder of Alaska, while his tight shots of therapists' offices and police interrogation rooms reflect the isolation and desperation of Tyler's patients. They have all been subject to this sense of being cut off and removed (abducted if you will) from their daily lives by a series of experiences that have damaged them emotionally. Tyler is no different, having dealt with the recent death of her husband and her children's subsequent problems.
Enhancing the overall mood of The Fourth Kind is the strong acting present throughout the film. Milla Jovovich is excellent as the emotionally disturbed and grieving psychotherapist. While her interaction with the children is slightly weak, the scenes between her and Sherrif August (Will Patton), Dr. Abel Campos (Elias Koteas), and Awolowa Odusami (Hakeem Kae-Kazim) are riveting and engaging. I don't think The Fourth Kind would have worked as well without the casting of these specific actors. Also editor Paul Convington's ability to intersperse "real footage" within the film lends a "based on a true story" and authentic quality to the film. It's too bad the story is a bowl full of malarkey.
Where The Fourth Kind fell flat for me however is in the climax. It seemed convenient and somewhat forced. In retrospect the Hollywood quality to the ending reflects the untruthful nature of these "true" events. I wouldn't say that it ruined the movie for me, but it definitely reduced the film's quality. Fortunately the dynamic mood and strong acting of The Fourth Kind somewhat made up for its dishonest nature.
My rating: 7/10
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