A Thomas Bess review of:

Directed By: Olatunde Osunsanmi

Starring: Milla Jovovitch, Elias Koteas, Will Patton, Hakeem Kae-Kazim

Run Time: 98 minutes spent watching the skies.

NOTE: If you’re not an unimaginative jerkwad, please feel free to move ahead to the following paragraph and the start of the actual review. If you are an unimaginative jerkwad, pay close attention. I know you and the rest of your ill-mannered horde are out to erode what remains of the theater-going experience in this country but if you would please be so kind as to save it for flicks like Meet the Spartans or Crank, those of us who go to the movies to actually watch the story unfolding on screen would be much obliged. Ok, pocket rant over…

Before we go too far, lemme just make it clear that while I do believe in the presence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, I have no idea how much or how little of the events depicted in The Fourth Kind are actually true. In my book, whether or not something occurred in the real world takes a back seat to crafting a compelling story, so if you’re seeking this flick out as some sort of proof of alien encounters, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a creepy little flick that’ll plant some ideas in your head, this one’s worth your time.

The plot has pretty much been laid out for anyone who’s seen the trailer, but for the few of you who might have missed it, it goes a little something like this. Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler (Jovovich) is a recently widowed psychologist (psychiatrist? I always get those mixed up) carrying on her husband’s work, a sleep study detailing the nightly problems of some folks in Nome, Alaska. Seems they’re all waking up at around 3:30 every morning and a creepy white owl is watching them. Faster than anyone can say “You’re getting sleepy,” Dr. Tyler puts a patient under hypnosis and after proclaiming “it’s not an owl” he goes bat-shit nuts and destroys a good chunk of her office before being snapped out of it. After that things get very strange very quickly, as you’ve probably guessed, it has to do with lost memories and alien abduction theory (the titular “Fourth Kind” of encounter). Drawn into an increasingly personal and violent mystery, Dr. Tyler enlists the help of colleagues Abel Campos (Koteas) and Awolowa Odusami (Kae-Kazim) to figure out just what the hell is tormenting the residents of Nome while also dealing with the problem of an irritatingly skeptical sheriff (Patton) who thinks the good doctor herself is causing all the craziness.

So what’s good? While it took a little getting used to, I really ended up digging the way this movie shifted back and forth between the “filmed” footage and the “archived” footage, sometimes going so far as to show the scenes side by side, split-screen style. Again, I make no claim as to the veracity of the archived stuff, but it made an excellent counterpoint to the more traditional narrative and in most cases the former packs much more of a wallop. (A couple of scenes involving a police dashboard camera provide the creepiest shots in the movie in this scribe’s humble opinion). Casting wise everyone did a fine job, though when viewing Milla Jovovich next to the “real” Abigail Tyler, it’s obvious someone in charge said, “make sure she’s hot” and thus our lead was cast. That said, I had no problems with her performance and also laud the producers for not feeling it necessary to have her strip down to her underwear at any point. Supporting cast helps out nicely with Koteas and Kae-Kazim playing the skeptic and the believer respectively while Patton is at his earnest but infuriating best as the sheriff who refuses to acknowledge any of the weird shit piling up around him. Finally, the cinematography is beautiful throughout–despite the threat of being taken onto a UFO, I kind of want to visit Nome.

What’s not good? Those looking for a straight-up narrative might be disappointed with the The Fourth Kind in that the juxtaposition of the filmed and archived footage makes the movie play out more like an extended segment on Unsolved Mysteries or Sightings. That’s not necessarily meant as a slight, but if you’re expecting to get some sort of answer as to what’s going on or the alien’s motives, you’re not going to find them here. The events are presented in almost list-like fashion–this happened, then this happened, then this happened…draw your own conclusions, movie over. And if you were hoping to get a glimpse of the aliens or even a UFO, you’re out of luck. While you do hear a voice (very unsettling by the way) the creatures themselves are never seen save for a few frames in a blurry sequence toward the last act while their spacecraft is only seen for a split second. (I missed it the first time through, but they show the scene again at the end, complete with helpful red circle). And while I’m a pretty credulous guy, there are a couple scenes in the archived footage that had me going “Really?” Again, no spoilers but let’s just say that if some of the things we saw were legit I have a feeling Dr. Tyler and one of her patients would’ve needed several re-constructive surgeries to ever speak properly afterward.

But should you see it? I think so. While it didn’t keep me up to all hours like a certain flick from a month or so back, a href=”http://www.thefourthkind.net/”>The Fourth Kind did have me thinking for quite some time after, including some disquieting ideas as I was on the edge of sleep. If you’re in the market for an alien flick that doesn’t feel the need to beat you upside the head with special effects and diabolical world destruction schemes, give it a go. And if you’re one of the unimaginative jerkwads who giggles or jokes at an inappropriate moment, do the world a favor and stay home with a copy of Transformers 2. Everyone will be happier that way.

Til next time, always remember that it’s not an owl.

Tom Bess has sideburns that are so big they might be considered a beard shaving accident from afar. He blames his current mental state on Stephen King, Mike Nelson, Seth McFarlane and Vince McMahon but bears them no ill will. He passes his time writing movie reviews, but will flee the interwebs forever as soon as Allison Mack starts returning his calls.