The Fourth Kind

Writer-director Olatunde Osunsanmi's faux-documentary-style thriller about alien abduction (which might better be titled Close Encounters of the Worst Kind) focuses on supposedly “real” therapist Abbey Tyler, who treats abduction patients. Osunsanmi juxtaposes a purported videotape of the “actual” woman being interviewed by himself (after she suffered a mental breakdown) with dramatic recreations of Tyler's experiences as acted by Milla Jovovich, who also introduces the film. This elaborate charade fails completely: first because the “factual” archival material is wretchedly made, with acting so broad you'll laugh at the excesses; and second, because the re-enactments aren't appreciably better. The plot essentially boils down to the old story of ancient astronauts coming to Earth eons ago, and now returning—abducting people and driving them insane, while also targeting those, like Tyler, aware of their existence. Unfortunately, recording devices go crazy whenever the aliens appear, so we never see them (nice for the budget, but dramatically unsatisfying), and the ancient Sumerian language they speak is mostly indecipherable, so their purpose remains obscure. By the time The Fourth Kind ends with Jovovich and Osunsanmi assuring the audience of the truth of what they've presented, the film's cycled through every trick imaginable to spark shudders—all to no avail. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (23 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a small extras package for a faux documentary misfire.] (F. Swietek)