Whenever I go to the grocery store, the checkout line is my favorite
part. Walking up to a long line does not irk me in the slightest. This
is just one of those times to stop and read some gossip magazines.
There is a scandal here, a weight gain story there, crazy makeovers
left and right, but there is one magazine that gets some interesting
attention. The bizarre-paranormal-batboy-boogie man magazine, it always
has a ridiculously photo-shopped front picture with a 48-font headline
declaring zombies will eat us all! Of course we just ignore the crazy
rantings and go about our business. With so many different story titles
the writers of this magazine can choose from, the most lucrative and
evolving story idea is the alien encounters. We roll our eyes at it and
think the people who have that happen to them live in the back woods
and are crazy out of their minds already. But what if someone very
respected and intelligent had encounters happen to them? This is the
question that The Fourth Kind asked, and it gave a vague but evidence-filled answer.
The Fourth Kind is a film based on the events of Dr.
Abby Tyler in 2000. She is a psychologist in the small town of Nome,
Alaska who is starting to see a pattern in many of her patients
nighttime occurrences. Her curiosity gets the best of her and she
decides to dig deeper into her patients mind and use hypnosis to help
reveal what is going on. One out of this world experience after another
happen to Dr. Tyler and her own sanity is questioned. With actual
footage taken of patients, encounters, and also audio recordings of
memos and strange voices, it is time for the audience to figure out
just what they believe.
With this film, they writers could have gone a million different
directions with it. The introduction is taken very seriously, with a
"warning" from the get go that this movie will disturb and shock you.
It lets you know that things will get crazy, but there is actual
documentation of all the events that take place around these bizarre
events. Even with the footage shown of the encounters and the audio of
strange voices and sounds, it is hard to believe that this story is
completely real and it is the fault of everything but the paranormal
aspects of it. Actress Mila Jovovich is believable as the doctor, but I
cannot say the same for her costars. Sheriff August, played by Will
Patton, acted as though he belonged in a straight-to-DVD slasher flick.
Aside from the acting, the plot was jumpy. Granted, this is being
recounted by the woman whose life was completely shattered by these
events, I would understand if she has tried to forget and then is asked
to remember every painful detail of her ordeal. Despite the lack of a
fluid story, the movie still managed to creep me out! There were points
I was squirming in my seat waiting for the scene to end. The actual
footage will leave you wide eyed and wondering, "this can't be real."
It is rated PG-13 for violent/disturbing
images, some terror, thematic elements and brief sexuality. The
sexuality is so brief and within the confines of marriage it should not
even be a worry. There are many disturbing images, especially when it
is actual footage that is shown. It is hard to be able to tell yourself
"its not real" when it is validated video. Someone under the age of 13
will have a hard time understanding this film when it shows real clips
along with it. You cant comfort them fully without wondering yourself,
so just hit the high road on this one and leave the kids at home. I
suggest this if you want to go out with a group of friends and have a
good topic to debate about later. It gives good points for both sides,
but no clear answer, which is vexing but understandable.
I give The Fourth Kind three out of five white owls. The
real audio/video aspect of the movie makes it intriguing and appealing,
but the Hollywood side of it does not live up to its full potential. Do
not worry though, just wait until next week's edition of that black and
white print magazine and I bet you will be reading a good alien story
there.
