Friday, November 6, 2009

The Fourth Kind Review

I want to start off by saying that growing up, me and my father used to watch numerous shows and documentaries on alien abductions and UFO phenomenon. As a result I developed a fear of being taken in my sleep by extraterrestrials (no shit it used to scare the hell out of me) Something I have since grown out of. But I still hold a fondness for all things alien. But it give me a predisposition for liking alien themed movies and books.

The Fourth Kind is another Pseudo-doc movie that blends "real archival footage" with dramatized scenes. Milla Jovovich plays Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler, a psychologist, who practices in Nome, Alaska. After the mysterious death of her husband (in the bed right next to her) decides to continue with his research as a way to cope with his death. The project (psychological research) relating to a large number of Nome I want to start off by saying that growing up me and my father used to watch numerous shows and documentaries on alien abductions and UFO phenomenon. As a result I developed a fear of being taken in my sleep by extraterrestrials (no shit my biggest fear as a kid). Something I have since grown out of. But I still hold a fondness for all things alien and unexplained. But it gives me a predisposition for liking alien themed movies and books.

The Fourth Kind is another Pseudo-doc movie that blends "real archival footage" with dramatized scenes. Milla Jovovich plays Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler, a psychologist, who practices in Nome, Alaska. After the mysterious death of her husband (in the bed right next to her) decides to continue with his research as a way to cope with his death. The project (psychological research) relating to a large number of Nome residents having chronic sleep issues. As she interviews them she finds that they are all awoken around the same time by what they describe as an owl (a creepy fucking owl). She decides to hypnotize one of them and gets an extreme reaction. The rest of the story unfolds through more hypnotism and the slow unveiling of what is interpreted as nightly alien abductions. The movie is presented through a blend of both "real" and re-enacted footage. Many of the key scenes are viewed in split-screen. Cutting to only real footage for the most intense moments. The effect is largely effective. The fact that there is a possibility that the things you are seeing could have really happened add a lot to the movie. However the story does have some pacing issues. A few moments that have great build up, fall flat. The acting in the dramatic portion is good, not great. There are many interesting issues brought up in the film including ancient aliens and extraterrestrial god theory that (predisposition) are interesting enough to make some of the slower scenes move.

The biggest gripe I have with this movie is that end. (BIG SPOILERS TO FOLLOW)

One of the last scenes in the movie (one of many that I thought was THE final) we find out that Abigail's husband killed himself. The reason I have a problem with this is that you got the sense that that was the case the entire movie but that something involving the abductions was to blame. But that is never suggested. In the end it comes back as a way to discount everything that Dr. Tyler has been saying throughout the movie. It is suggested that she hallucinated her husbands’ murder and therefore could be lying about it all. It sort of feels like the "twist" is just a way of telling you "ha ha, it all could be bullshit".

With the end and pacing issues aside I was entertained by this one. There is definitely a need to suspend some disbelieve in regards to the "real footage" but if you do you get a movie that at times is very creepy and leaves you with some juicy things to debate ant discuss with your friends. I would recommend anyone who is interested in UFOs or Abduction Theory to goes see this one. If you are not that interested in that sort of thing I would say wait and rent it. having chronic sleep issues. As she interviews them she finds that they are all awoken around the same time by what they describe as an owl (a creepy fucking owl). She decides to hypnotize one of them and gets an extreme reaction. The rest of the story unfolds through more hypnotism and the slow unveiling of what is interpreted as nightly alien abductions.

The movie is presented through a blend of both "real" and re-enacted footage. Many of the key scenes are viewed in split-screen. Cutting to only real footage for the most intense moments. the effect is largely effective. The fact that there is a possibility that the things you are seeing could have really happened add a lot to the movie. However the story does have some pacing issues. A few moments that have great build up, fall flat. The acting in the dramatic portion is good, not great. There are many interesting issues brought up in the film including ancient aliens and extraterrestrial god theory that (predisposition) are interesting enough to make some of the slower scenes move.
The biggest gripe I have with this movie is that end. (BIG SPOILERS TO FOLLOW)
One of the last scenes in the movie (one of many that I thought was THE final) we find out that Abigail's husband killed himself. The reason I have a problem with this is that you got the sense that that was the case the entire movie but that something involving the abductions was to blame. But that is never suggested. In the end it comes back as a way to discount everything that Dr. Tyler has been saying throughout the movie. It is suggested that she hallucinated her husbands murder and therefore could be lying about it all. It sort of feels like the "twist" is just a way of telling you "ha ha, it all could be bullshit".
With the end and pacing issues aside I was entertained by this one. There is definitely a need to suspend some disbelieve in regards to the "real footage" but if you do you get a movie that at times is very creepy and leaves you with some juicy things to debate ant discuss with your friends. I would recommend anyone who is interested in UFOs or Abduction Theory to goes see this one. If you are not that interested in that sort of thing I would say wait and rent it.

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