The Fourth Kind

Gold Circle Films has brought us "Close Encounters" of another kind, with their new feature film The Fourth Kind. Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, this thriller establishes that there are actually four types of alien abductions, and clears up the common misconception that alien encounters are anal probes or other similar experiments.

The film stars Mila Jovovich as Dr. Abigail Tyler, a widowed psychologist and Hakeem Kae- Kazim as Awolowa Odusami an acclaimed expert and author of ancient cultures. According to the synopsis, in 1972, a measurement scale was established for alien encounters. This system was divided into four levels.  A UFO is sighted; it is called an encounter of the first kind. If evidence is collected, it is known as an encounter of the second kind. When contact is made with extraterrestrials, it is the third kind. The final level named "the fourth kind" is abduction. The movie is set in Nome, Alaska where unusually large amounts of people have continuously gone missing since the 1960's. The FBI has visited the town on several occasions; however all of these cases remain unsolved with no possible explanation.

Said be based on actual case studies completed, the movie combines real-time video and audio footage by combining split-screen shots that show the actual event next to its depiction. This only heightens the experience of the movie and makes it even creepier in many aspects. In both the beginning and the end Jovovich and Kae-Kazim speak to the audience about the film and explain that no matter what you believe, what you walk out of the theater with is up to you. It's an interesting plot device and leaves plenty of room for skeptics and believers alike to walk out with different opinions. The Fourth Kind ended with a rather interesting effect, of various calls to a radio show about abductions. As a member of the audience, it seemed to me the message of the movie was that not everything can be rationally explained with all five senses and other such empirical evidence; some things have to be seen in order to believe it. The theme seemed to center around the idea that we are not alone. Perhaps there is something is out there watching us and controlling our lives.

While The Fourth Kind, claims to be an adaptation of real events. I am not convinced that the movie was completely based on actually events; nonetheless the real-time footage was still creepy and disturbing. Even the real Dr. Tyler resembles an alien when seen in interviews with Olatunde Osunsanmi. Overall, I'd give this movie 4 stars because it brings up interesting and obscure ideas that I have not seen in movies like this before. Although I wasn't entirely convinced the events occurred exactly as Dr. Tyler claims they did, I felt like I got my money's worth.  Currently playing in theaters everywhere, I encourage you to go to the Towson Commons on York Road and see it for yourself. While it has received mixed reviews, I feel that may actually have been part of the films intention considering the fact that everyone to reacts differently to the stories.