The Fourth Kind Review
In The Fourth Kind, we are introduced to Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist who worked in Nome, Alaska and had a number of patients who seemed to be traumatized by inexplicable events that happened to them in the middle of the night. Some of the patients claimed they had been disturbed by these events since childhood. Dr. Tyler began audio and videotaping her sessions with these patients in an effort to shed some light on what exactly was happening to the people of Nome. The Fourth Kind reenacts these events around the real footage of sessions with Dr. Tyler herself and some of her patients. There are also real audio and video recordings from police car cameras and police interrogation tapes that are vital to the story. Most of the footage that is integrated into the movie comes from incidents that happened in October of the year 2000 but there are also clips from an extensive interview between the film’s writer and director Olatunde Osunsanmi and Dr. Tyler from September 2002.
The Fourth Kind stars Milla Jovovich as Dr. Abigail Tyler. Also appearing in the movie are Elias Koteas as a colleague, friend and fellow psychologist (you may not recognize the name but you will recognize the face), Will Patton who plays the town’s sheriff and Hakeem Kae-Kazim as a scholar and student of ancient languages. No offense to the actors and actresses, but none of that really matters. What matters and what this movie is all about is the real footage from the interview with Dr. Tyler, her recordings from her various case studies and the police recordings from their involvement in the investigation. Once you witness all this on the big screen, if you don’t believe that there are aliens somewhere out there and that they have visited Nome, Alaska on a number of occasions, then you probably won’t believe the sky is blue. I saw this movie about three hours ago and I am still rattled by it all.
I have to admit, The Fourth Kind starts out kind of slow. A pale, sickly-looking Dr. Tyler is talking to Mr. Osunsanmi. We do get to see some video of what Dr. Tyler looked like in October 2000, before her interview with the director. Her deterioration is quite dramatic, disturbing and when all is said and done, quite understandable. She takes us back to the time when she was questioning a number of patients who claimed they had trouble sleeping at night and had a white owl sitting outside their bedroom window and staring at them. The patients are hypnotized and, in many cases, hysterically recount the events. It’s a bit shocking but nothing that didn’t convince me that they were not a bunch of kooks telling tales of aliens walking into their bedrooms.
Then about 30 minutes into the movie, all that changes — at least when looking at the movie from the perspective that what we are seeing is all a bunch of poppycock. There’s audio that was recorded that includes some screaming and a deep voice speaking a language that hasn’t been used on this planet in more than two thousand years. It sent chills up and down my spine. From this point onwards, some of the authentic footage we get to see includes a bed-ridden man levitating, a hypnotized woman screaming with her mouth so wide open it does not seem like it’s humanly possible and some audio and video of a police officer witnessing an alien abduction. This is all real footage we get to watch. To say it is shocking would be an understatement. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen in my entire life.
I’m not going to get into too many other details about The Fourth Kind because it’s probably better that you go into this movie with an open mind or at least not any exaggerated expectations. All I can say, for myself, is that The Fourth Kind scared me like no movie has in a long, long time. It’s more terrifying than The Exorcist, more chilling than Paranormal Activity and more shocking than the last ten minutes of Se7en. The movie begins and ends with a brief commentary from Milla Jovovich and Olatunde Osunsanmi and a footnote telling us we should develop our own conclusions from what we see in this movie.
I’m not really sure if I was ever a believer or a disbeliever when it came to the existence of extraterrestrial life. It’s something that’s always been in the back of my mind, but it never seemed there was concrete evidence that aliens have visited our planet. I can assure you of one thing – The Fourth Kind has made me a believer. I don’t think there’s any other explanation for what we are shown in this movie. I read one theory online that suggests that the abnormal number of suicides and disappearances in Nome, Alaska since the 1960’s are related to alcoholism and the harsh landscape and environment. I don’t know about you but I’ve never seen a drunk person levitate. I’ve never seen a harsh environment make someone speak a three thousand year-old language. Nor have I ever seen bad weather make someone open their mouth so wide that they could probably swallow a basketball. It’s all pretty surreal if you ask me. (9 out of 10)
Comments
17 Comments on The Fourth Kind Review
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Ben Haskett on
Fri, 30th Oct 2009 7:02 pm
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Josh Welch on
Wed, 18th Nov 2009 9:39 pm
Just so you don’t lose sleep over it, it’s important to note that not a single shred of… well, anything in this movie is legitimate. The “real” footage has already been proven to be fake.
Sorry if I ruined the movie for you.
They went to great lengths in the movie to tell us the audio and video were real. I have every reason to believe it is real.
Good review – I’m looking forward to it, but yes, as far as I’ve heard, everything is fabricated.
I am fascinated by this movie, and do intend to see it. But, I’m just astounded that anybody could be so naive to be so utterly taken in by the claims of ‘real’ footage! Yeah, maybe it is real (I do believe in Aliens by the way), but under the circumstances – it’s a big Hollywood blockbuster, and we’ve had very convincing CGI etc around for donkeys years now, and claims like the ones made here boost publicity – I very much doubt the validity of the claims.
I saw Chris Angel walk up the side of a building the other week on TV. He did it completely unaided. Totally true of course! He really has the ability to just walk up the side of a tall building. Sigh.
yeah don’t get me wrong im still going to go see this movie regardless, but come on brendan!!!!!!! you know damn well NONE of the footage is real this “dr. abigail tyler” has already been proven to be a complete and absolute fraud
long live capitalism!!!!!
I’m going to see this film regardless, but yeah, the “real footage” is about as real as the footage in Paranormal Activity(which I didn’t like).
There are several articles that blatantly dispel the validity of the movies footage.
Like this excerpt:
The Way Back Machine is the pet name of a handy internet archiving tool which allows you to see what any website or webpage looked like in the past. It needs a website to have been online for at least six months in order to have a record of its online history and, surprise, surprise, neither Dr. Tyler’s webpage nor the Alaskan Psychiatry Journal have been around that long on that domain.
That doesn’t mean that there never was a Dr. Abigail Tyler of course, only that her bio page on the Alaskan Psychiatry Journal website should be seen more as a prime example of sneaky and manipulative internet marketing than proof of the events depicted in the movie about her alien abduction theories.
I’m with the reviewer. I hadn’t done any research and didnt really know about this movie until getting a chance to see it earlier this week in a preview. They do make a pretty big deal about how real it is and I bought it though I’ve read about it being debunked after. but isnt that just the same as any other “based on a true story?” Either way didn’t change that I was really terrified. Didn’t make me a believer – but then I also don’t believe in my upstairs neighbors either. Fact is, on its own merits, what I saw on the screen scared me. A lot.
So, I take it a lot of you never saw the Blair Witch Project . . .
Hey what type of horror is this movie. Is it like the blair witch where it is mostly suspenseful and frightening situations. Or is it a movie full of pop ups like haunting in conneticut.
Yeah I saw blair witch. And i didnt really engage with the “real” question because I didnt find it that scary. This to me is truly terrifying movie because it’s showing how the presence of aliens and the abductions destroy peoples lives. whether you believe in aliens or not these people do and you see how the experience affects them.
I just came from and early preview tonight and let me tell you, it is bone chilling! Whether it’s real or not, it’s effective in conveying the fear of the unknown and being helpless. At one point you really doubt what is real, fake or plausible.
Thumbs up for me, it’s an original movie and certain scenes are bound to schock you.
I saw the film “The Fourth Kind” today, and being a mental health worker. I found the film and the premise very disturbing. I truly believe that there are things in this world that we just can’t explain with the exception of paranoia and psychotic hallucinations and delusions, but I don’t believe that any psychologist would put their reputation on the line or would go out of their way to make this story up. Unless, Dr. Tyler really did kill her husband and daughter. However, what is really disturbing is that the FBI and police have cleared her and have been actively investigating other missing person reports in Nome, Alaska for years…I think something is definately going on up there. Anyway, it was a great film and yeah it scared the hell out of me.
was load o rubish and 30% of us viewers started laughing uncontrollably 3/4 of the way through!
hypno therapist wakes to find dead husband, makes story up, hynotises her kid into blindness, goes back to work within 2 weeks as hypnotherapist.
hypnotises clients, who in turn shoot their families and do them selves right mischievious’s.
then tries learn ancient languge, very poorly, hides daughter in the dust bin makes up another story all the time pulling a face of a drugged up loon.
aliens! my arse.
americans more like.
if you want watch a piontless film about piontless things then just watch BRONSON. “MY NAMES CHARLEY,,,,,,,, CHARLEY FUNKING BROWN”
The so-called “real” footage in the film is fake. In the first place, you can tell they are actors by their phrasing and body language during falls, seizures, etc. But the real give-a-way is the leather couch in the “real” footage. It’s a West Elm that wasn’t available till 2005. This is a clever film that joins two proven genres: posession (AKA the Exorist, Omen, etc. and UFO movies). The cheap ploy of invoking Close Encounters was too much. If only . . .
The movie sucks. It’s not about aliens at all. Just a cover-up for the psycharist’s lost daughter and dead husband.
WTF is “CGI”? Can’t anyone use real words instead of goofy acronyms? And, btw, for all who were taken in by the “real footage” in Fourth Kind, a heavy clue that it was all fake was in the camera angle when one of her patients shot himself and his family.
I have just returned from watching Fourth Kind and I was terrified. Upon reading the other comments here as to the authenticity of the real footage I can sleep tonight! But really, scary films dont bother me but that was horrifying. Regardless of whether its real or not it still had me curled up in my seat wishing I could unsee it.
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