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SYNOPSIS: In
October 2004, filmmaker Olatunde Osunsanmi had wrapped principal
photography on his thriller The Cavern and traveled to North
Carolina for postproduction. While there, a chance dinner
conversation sparked an interest that would be the genesis
of The Fourth Kind.
A colleague told him of a psychologist living in the Carolinas
who relocated from a remote town along the Bering Sea. In
Alaska, she had conducted a sleep disorder study that revealed
terrifying data. What fascinated him...all the more because
it was heavily documented. Through his contact, he tracked
her down. After some reluctance, she shared her story.
In Fall 2000, the therapist's patients under hypnosis, exhibited
behaviors that suggested encounters with non humans. Before
sleep, every person recalled a white owl outside his or her
window. They woke up paralyzed, hearing horrific noises from
beyond their doors just before an unknown assailant pulled
them screaming from their rooms. Subsequent memories went
dark.
As the doctor investigated the phenomenon, she discovered
a history of missing people and bizarre activity from the
region, dating back to the 1960s. The more she dug, the more
she believed the unbelievable: Her patients' stories were
not false memories but comprehensive evidence of alien abductions.
MOVIE
REVIEW:
Honestly, the only reason why this reviewer was inclined to sit through this movie is because of its leading star, Ukrainian actress Milla Jovovich. If you remember, she first wowed cinephiles with her outstanding performance in Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element some 13 years ago. Ever since then, in our humble opinion, Jovovich has put in some decent performances but hasn’t had the best of luck with fame (the Resident Evil series is a B grade cult hit at best). So even if her latest movie doesn’t boast of an exactly appealing story, we just had to watch it to see whether the charismatic beauty would surprise us in any way.
Jovovich plays a psychologist who probes the unknown arena after the mysterious death of her husband. Her clients include patients who suffer from insomnia and amnesia, and some very traumatic memories which haunt them repeatedly. What follows is a series of hypnoses, nervous breakdowns and violent behaviours which seem to spell C-O-N-S-P-I-R-A-C-Y. As she continues to pursue the truth, a terrifying revelation involving alien abduction is uncovered.
Thanks to the phenomenal success of The Blair Witch Project (1999), many movie companies have since adopted this mockumentary style of filmmaking to entice audiences. So here comes another movie claims to be a true story about a plague of alien abductions in Alaska a decade ago. Hence, we audiences have a reason to feel that this approach is somewhat dreary and dull in this day and age. Interspersing “real” recorded video footages with re-enacted scenes? Yawn. Having “possessed” characters levitating in the air while some strange language is spouted? Yawn. Having an open conclusion to leave audiences in an awkward state of mind? Yawn.
So what’s left is the cast to look out for, which means, you have to forgive us for gawking at Jovovich. She first appears in the 98 minute movie like a TV host, telling us that what we are going to see on screen is true – in a really mystifying voice, of course. She then takes on the role of the psychologist in the re-enactments, before pushing her role to the edge with tragic consequences. The slipshod movie does get some points for delivering little jolts of fear here and there, but in its entirety, the Olantunde Osunsami directed horror movie is a fine example of lazy filmmaking.
The title is derived from a scale of measurement meant for alien encounters. The sighting of an UFO is considered an encounter of the first kind. The collection of evidence is known as an encounter of the second kind. When contact is made with those little green men, it is classified as the third kind. The fourth kind is the abduction, which will give you a rough idea of what happens in this movie. That also means, there is not much room for imagination, except that irksome white owl which appears quite a bit in the movie. What purpose does it serve? We don’t have much of an idea too. We are guessing that you wouldn’t as well, if this whole alien abduction conspiracy does not interest you.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
There are no special features in this disc. Guess the producers thought no one would be too interested in the whole alien abduction business.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The disc’s visual transfer is fine and is presented in English 2.0 Dolby Digital.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted on 29 April 2010
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