The Fourth Kind Movie Review

Feels Made For TV

Truth can be scarier than fiction. But what is truth?

“The Fourth Kind” builds on the mockumentary format that has long since outlived its appeal, filmmaker Olatunde Osunsanmi assembles an impressive cast in an effort to blur the lines between real and imaginary. And while the execution is elegant, the impact is lacking. The film isn’t as scary as it is frustrating. Without delving into the back-story that may have some basis in fact, I wonder whether Osunsanmi too tightly chained himself to the underlying “true story” and forgot that “In Search Of” did this sort of thing back in the late 1970s. And while the youthful audience sought to be captured may have never seen that show, hosted by none-other-than Leonard Nimoy, the right place for this type of material is the small screen. “The Fourth Kind” feels like it was made for TV.

A dramatic recreation of supposedly true events, “The Fourth Kind” lets us in on the joke from the outset. With deadpan sincerity actress Milla Jovovich introduces herself and beckons us to make up our own minds as to what is true and what isn’t. Jovovich tells us that she will be playing psychologist Abigail Tyler, and “actual” footage of Dr. Tyler will be cut into Jovovich’s dramatic portrayal. This approach means lots of split screen effects reminiscent of an episode of television’s “24.” It is an intentionally disorienting visual scope. The audio track is mixed mess, with parallel dialogue tracks running simultaneously as though the sync is off. Instead of making you nervous, it gets on your nerves.

The action takes place in Nome, Alaska, and early on we see Dr. Tyler flying herself over tall snow covered mountains. The photography is impressive and strikes an uneven look for a film filled with supposedly “actual” amateur video. Dr. Tyler has set up shop in Nome for the purpose of interviewing, and I suppose treating, residents that claim they’ve been visited by something. The film has a little creepy fun hiding the patients’ beliefs as Dr. Tyler unravels the mystery. But the movie’s title, an obvious reference to alien abduction theories and a rip-off of one mighty fine Spielberg film, has already dispelled any mystery.

Sadly, with the talent involved, there was no reason to rely on the mockumentary/dramatic recreation gimmick. This sort of thing has been done well before as a straight narrative feature film—see 1993’s decent “Fire in the Sky.” And as far as mockumentary hybrids go, “The Fourth Kind” doesn’t do much for the sub-genre. Earlier this year, the romantic comedy “Paper Heart” worked by having actors play themselves doing a documentary. And while the romance in that film was suspect, the interviews and documentary they made felt authentic. “The Fourth Kind’s” attempts at merging “real footage” with recreations just looks staged. And might make you believe that the truth isn’t out there.