Sunday, November 8, 2009

The Fourth Kind


You get extra credit if you pronounce the name of director Olatunde Osunsanmi correctly. The Fourth Kind attempts a sort of reality movie experience that goes beyond films like Blair Witch, Cloverfield or the current Paranormal Activity. And the movie plays its trump card with style. We're supposed to believe that the movie has actual recorded sessions with people who were abducted by other entities (we're beyond aliens and into dimensional oddities and perhaps white owls with no apologies to Where the Wild Things Are).
Other than the lead character Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) all of the players have false names. But the name Abbie Tyler is itself just part of The Fourth Kind's viral marketing. Throughout the film various video recordings are seen split-screen while the action plays out. These are supposed to represent the actual reality that the film is based upon. It's a good ploy and occasionally makes for some effective cinematic jolts. Like when the guy levitates, screaming and possessed. Of course at the most crucial moments of suspense the video (in the film) turns to static.
The Fourth Kind takes its title from a non-fiction book from the mid-90s, Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind. That book dealt with case histories of people who'd been abducted by aliens. The Fourth Kind throws in Sumerian religion and redneck sheriffs to make it feel real, but it just makes it look fake. Elias Koteas and Will Patton lend credible support.


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