I always have had the hidden fear that one night I would wake up to find a group of small, grey aliens looking at me. These stories seem to be becoming common, especially with the UFO community, and there are so many theories being discussed from sleep paralysis to government experimentation, and, of course, the real thing. However, it is the real thing that scares the crap out of me, and this film, The Fourth Kind, takes it to the extreme by combining so-called real documentary footage in a split screen format next to reenactments.
The film takes place in Nome, Alaska, where there is a high population of missing people, and death and suicide seem to be common. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) is a psychologist who, along with her husband, is studying the area and what is going on with the people of Nome. After her husband’s death, many of her patients start telling her the same story, where they are visited each night by a snow owl. When the pattern starts to develop, she begins treating her patients by putting them under hypnosis. She soon discovers that there is something more sinister behind the missing time her patients have been experiencing and that there is possible alien abduction taking place. As the film begins to spiral down, we learn what is really going on and how Dr. Tyler is also a victim of this strange phenomenon, and how she presents her evidence as truth as she faces criminal charges for the disappearances.
I went into this film with the thought that all the documentary footage in the film was real footage that Dr. Abigail Tyler and her colleagues had recorded during their studies. The filmmakers really want to make you believe that all this is really happening, and thinking that all of this evidence is true, I was scared out of my pants. But, after the film was over, I felt that something did not fit. All the evidence seemed to point to the fact that Aliens and Demons might be the same thing. The use of the ancient Sumerian language, and religion confused me, and knowing what I know about the Sumerians, their faith and their place in history, everything did not quite fit into place. I also wondered why none of this evidence had been released in the past as proof of alien existence. So, I jumped onto the web to find out that the documentary footage was too good to be true, just as I expected it to be. Don’t be fooled by what you see, because the film’s selling point is that what you are seeing happened in real life. Don’t get me wrong, however; some of the story is based on fact, and there are cases of people going missing in Nome, Alaska; but there is no proof that aliens are involved.
As a movie, The Fourth Kind is an exciting roller coaster ride that relies more on the psychological effect in its scares than it does by using gore. It’s the perfect example of the “less is more” method, and succeeds tremendously in doing so. The mix of the reenactments and documentary footage really keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next. I have to give the filmmakers credit for developing this film into something that is part movie, part documentary and part amateur video, while giving you that feel that your watching one of those shows about ghost and aliens on the History Channel or A & E. It’s very creepy and the entire atmosphere of the film leaves chills running up and down your spine.
The Blu-ray disc does not have a lot of features but does have plenty of things that you can access through BD-LIVE and pocket BLU. The disc does include deleted scenes and is D-BOX motion-enabled. The menu for this disc is different from a lot of other Blu-ray films as the previews are part of the menu and can be accessed if you want to view them. Being new to such technology, I’m not sure if this was being sent though my internet connection via my Blu-ray player or if it was part of the disc. However, it was one great interactive experience where I felt I was in control of what I wanted to watch rather than being forced to sit though a bunch of advertisements and warnings before I got watch the film. I must say that this disc loaded faster than any other Blu-ray disc I have ever viewed and that alone made it well worth its time in checking out.
Overall, I think The Fourth Kind is a film that is either going to piss off a lot of people because they will either find it boring or knowing that the truth behind the film is that it uses the same style that The Blair Witch Project, and Paranormal Activity use, that it might be a turn-off. Personally, I found it to be scarier than both of then. There is a lot going on in this film and I think, depending on how educated you are on the subjects in the film, you can either dismiss it as a lackluster movie or give it its due for being a creative and somewhat well-researched fictional story. As it says at the beginning end the end of the film, you be the judge.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
