The Fourth Kind (2009)

Director:

Olatunde Osunsanmi

Writers (WGA):

Olatunde Osunsanmi (screenplay)
Olatunde Osunsanmi (story) ...

Release Date:

6 November 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction.

Plot:

Fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Abduction | Alaska | Disappearance | UFO

Cast

Milla Jovovich	...	Abbey Tyler
Will Patton	...	Sheriff August
Hakeem Kae-Kazim	...	Awolowa Odusami
Corey Johnson	...	Tommy Fisher
Enzo Cilenti	...	Scott Stracinsky
Elias Koteas	...	Abel Campos
Eric Loren	...	Deputy Ryan
Mia McKenna-Bruce	...	Ashley Tyler
Raphaël Coleman	...	Ronnie Tyler
Daphne Alexander	...	Theresa
Alisha Seaton	...	Cindy Stracinski
Tyne Rafaeli	...	Sarah Fisher
Pavel Stefanov	...	Timothy Fisher
Kiera McMaster	...	Joe Fisher
Sarah Houghton	...	Jessica

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violent/disturbing images, some terror, thematic elements and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44661) | Japan:G | Ireland:15A | Singapore:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Gold Circle Films

Trivia:

The movie's hoaxed interviews have angered the families of real missing persons in and around Nome, Alaska, for trivializing their loss. Melanie Edwards, Vice President of Kawerak Inc (an organization representing tribal peoples in Alaska) described the movie as "insensitive to family members of people who have gone missing in Nome over the years". Universal has refused to discuss the movie with that organization or with local journalists.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the film, there is a sheriff and deputies that provide police service to Tyler's home. This is wrong, as Nome has a police department, and there are no sheriffs in the state of Alaska.

Movie Connections:

References "Twin Peaks" (1990)

I don't care if it is fake, it's still entertainment

A few weeks ago I went to see an independent horror film that was honestly one of the scariest viewing experiences I have ever been apart of. That film is the monster hit Paranormal Activity. Now we have yet another unique viewing experience, this one is The Fourth Kind.

I have never been a huge believer about visitors from other worlds, UFOs, and conspiracy theories, but I must say that if there was ever a film that made me question if only for a second that their might be life out there somewhere, it would be this movie. It starts off with actress Mila Jovovich introducing herself and giving a preface to the film. She says that the film is based entirely on first person encounters and is backed up with evidence both in audio, visual, and in testimonial form.

We are then introduced to Dr. Tyler, the woman who Jovovich is portraying. She is being interviewed by the director Olatunde Osunsanmi. This interview is broken up and played at different points of the film. The look on Dr. Tyler's face alone gives you the impression that the story we are going to be told has obviously wreaked havoc on her life.

We begin after the death of her husband whose mysterious death has yet to be fully resolved. She is working on a sleep study in the town of Nome, Alaska where some of the residents have been telling her about a certain disturbances in the night. One in particular involving an owl outside their windows.

Without ruining too much of the plot and some of the "good" parts, I was pretty impressed with this film. I liked how much emphasis they put on the evidence. Osunsanmi obviously wants there to be no doubt that this movie is perceived not just as a movie but as a document. It's hard to believe that this is based on actual events seeing that some of the "archival evidence" is so startling and shocking. We have all seen videos and pictures of UFOs but these videos and audio clips are by far the most unsettling.

How could this story with all of it's evidence go unnoticed? Wouldn't it have helped Dr. Tyler's case? This so called evidence is so powerful and so unsettling, were it real I would be led to believe a lot of people around the world would reconsider that existence of intelligent life on other worlds.

I've read plenty of reviews calling this film a fraud, a let down, and a disappointment. I on the other hand thought that this was unique, compelling, and disturbing. It's not the scariest movie ever made, but there are certain images that will stay with you for a while. I have given up caring about whether or not this is a real case or if it is partially or entirely fabricated. It's fun, scary, and different. In the end it's a movie, a movie is supposed to entertain and make you think.