The Fourth Kinda.k.a. “The 4th Kind”

“The Fourth Kind,” from director Olatunde Osunsanmi, is not the normal horror film, by any means. I’ve never seen a film quite like this actually. There is no witty script to dissect, no offensive language to be upset by, and too much to it to discuss entirely in a simple review. And, in most ways, a film left so open to interpretation is very challenging to review.

The film is set in Nome, Alaska and follows psychiatrist Dr. Abbigail Tyler (Abbey—played by Milla Jovovich), as she tries to unravel the cause for many of her patients’ strange dreams and sleep deprivation. She discovers quickly that each of them report seeing an owl outside their window, and this unnerves them greatly. Abbey gets the idea to hypnotize them in order to tap into their subconscious and reveal what it is they aren’t remembering, or perhaps are being forced to forget. What she discovers through these sessions changes everything in her life and the entire town.

“The Fourth Kind” is a very straight-forward project, and is said to be based on true events, and to prove the point, actual archive footage from the therapy sessions, police surveillance and such are interlaced into the film to give it more of a documentary feel. While I cannot say for certain if the footage they claim to be real is or not, I can say that it definitely does the job. Several scenes display the “archive” footage (date stamp and everything) on one side of the screen, and the actor’s portrayal on the other, playing side by side. This is both unsettling and effective. I could give the director great credit for such a fantastic way of luring an audience were faux documentaries not all the rage right now (“Paranormal Activity,” “Cloverfield,” “Quarantine,” etc.). That aspect was the only thing that truly kept my attention. Further research on the film’s authenticity leads me to believe that it is very loosely based on the disappearances of residents in Nome, with alien abduction being only one of the theories that has been considered, and that all facts represented before the end credits are true.

The first half is fairly slow, and I found myself waiting for “something good” to happen. More therapy footage, something to remind me that this could be real. The second half (and I won’t give away any spoilers) kept me focused on top of being terrified. The scariest parts were the last three pieces of “footage” shown. I was honestly pinned to my seat with my jaw hanging open. Whether or not they’re real (and I pray they are not), they are absolutely mortifying to witness.

One scene shows a man being put under hypnosis on his bed and suddenly popping to life, levitating, with a demonic voice coming from him. This scene cuts between the “reality” shot and the reenactment, because whenever a supernatural (or, as they present it, alien) entity appears, the footage goes static. Another is a police surveillance shot from the hood of a police car where a large, black blur appears and the screen, again, goes static. The worst of the swearing occurs here, which is the witnessing officer shouting the s-word maybe once and repeating “Oh my God” a few times.

The final, and most terrifying of all, consists of Abbey being hypnotized and taken over and arguing with by what is obviously a demon speaking in a dead language, with the translation on the right side of the screen. The force in her says things like, “I am God.”

Besides the utterly scary moments, the movie remains surprisingly clean for a horror film, and for that I must give the director credit. The worst of it is very early on, with a quick, steamy flashback of Abbey and her husband kissing on the bed, a short murder scene in which a man is stabbed and blood spills on his chest, and another man throwing up. Vulgar language is moderate (s-words, “hell,” “damn”), but profanity include 12 misues of “God” and 1 of “Jesus” and 1 of “Christ.”

“The Fourth Kind” brings a lot of tough issues to center stage like the supernatural realm and what it’s capable of, faith, family, demons, and so much more. I have a hard time recommending this film to people because of all the mixed messages, not so much because of the content. The film was done well, presented its case, and I walked out not sure what to think of it all. It definitely calls for thought and processing, and I liked that about it. For once this was a horror film that was not just senseless violence, or self-indulgence, but, even though many of the “facts” are false, there is an undeniable level of intelligence.

I could not in good conscience recommend this to most, especially a Christian audience. It takes a certain type of mind to truly appreciate this type of film for what it has to offer, and a truthful mind to recognize the sadness of its falsehood.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.