Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

The Fourth Kind Blu-ray Movie Review

A hit-or-miss abduction thriller spawns a solid Blu-ray release...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 6, 2010

There's something to be said for perpetuated myths in modern culture. Debates rage, arguments turn sour, and accusations are hurled with abandon, but the fun, dear readers, lies in the mystery of it all. For every brash skeptic, there's an inexplicable oddity; a bit of convincing amateur video, a strange audio recording, an event that doesn't adhere to the laws of logic. For every wide-eyed true believer, there's a damning piece of evidence; a simple explanation, an emerging scientific study, a revelation in neuropsychology. But for those of us in the middle, those who revel in the enigma and embrace the unknown, such stories are the stuff of engrossing books, captivating television and, more to the point, unforgettable films. Sadly, The Fourth Kind isn't going to linger long in anyone's mind. It isn't Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Mothman Prophecies, War of the Worlds, Incident at Roswell... it isn't even Fire in the Sky. Sharing more in common with The Exorcist and Paranormal Activity than its more traditional genre brethren, writer/director Olatunde Osunsanmi's cleverly conceived examination of events that supposedly occurred in the remote Alaskan town of Nome is a flawed but entertaining bit of cinematic sleight-of-hand; a decent but somewhat shallow "true story" that celebrates the inner-workings of its illusion above all else.

I'm actress Milla Jovovich, and I will be portraying Dr. Abigail Tyler in The Fourth Kind. This film is a dramatization of events that occurred October 1st through the 9th of 2000, in the Northern Alaskan town of Nome. To better explain the events of this story, the director has included actual archived footage throughout the film. This footage was acquired from Nome psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler, who has personally documented over 65 hours of video and audio materials during the time of the incidents. To better protect their privacy, we have changed the names and professions of many of the people involved. Every dramatized scene in this movie is supported by either archived audio, video or as it was related by Dr. Tyler during extensive interviews with the director. In the end, what you believe is yours to decide. Please be advised, some of what you're about to see is extremely disturbing.

So begins The Fourth Kind, a shaky house of cards that nearly exposes its fictional roots in its occasionally transparent attempts to conceal its Blair Witch-inspired parlor tricks. As we meet psychologist and mother-of-two, Dr. Tyler -- portrayed by Jovovich, as well as a talented young actress whose name we may never know -- she's struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband, Will (Julian Vergov), an academic whose research into the strange events plaguing Nome was abruptly halted when he was murdered by an as-yet-unidentified nighttime intruder. Under the watchful eye of her colleague and mentor, Abel Campos (Elias Koteas, channeling a middle-aged Robert De Niro), Abigail picks up where her husband left off, interviewing a number of sleep-deprived residents who all share memories of the same ghostly owl sitting by their bedsides. But as the good doctor uses hypnosis to probe deeper, she uncovers something far more sinister; something that leaves one patient in the morgue and another in the hospital. Before you can say "run girl, run," Dr. Tyler finds herself caught up in the madness, desperate to convince Campos and the ever-skeptical Sheriff August (Will Patton, the film's greatest asset) that something very frightening, something very real is happening in Nome. Intercut with handheld footage and audio recordings the director purportedly uncovered during his investigation (culled from camcorders, audio tapes, 911 calls, and police-cruiser cameras), her story is, at least initially, an engrossing tale that manages to build at a methodical yet arresting pace.

Unfortunately, a series of unnecessary subplots -- all of which revolve around the death of Abagail's husband and her subsequent relationship with her children (Mia McKenna-Bruce and Raphaël Coleman) -- haphazardly add more elements to an already crowded plot. Don't get me wrong, the cause of Will's death is of utmost importance, but key developments merely muddy the waters and only serve to justify Sheriff August's at-times comical skepticism. But it also raises too many questions, all of which occurred to me as the credits rolled (and none of which I can mention here without giving too much away). The Fourth Kind is at its best when it focuses on the goods; the film's shocking encounters, eerie hypnosis sessions, haunting visions of grinning owls and shuffling monstrosities, hair-raising audio recordings, and distorted video footage (all of which offers neatly packaged, split-second glimpses at the chaos swirling round Dr. Tyler). Yes, the actors push a bit too hard, but I chalked up any strained performances to the fact that their scenes are intended to be dramatizations. And yes, there are some distracting performance discrepancies (Jovovich isn't quite as convincing as the actress playing the real Dr. Tyler, and Enzo Cilenti is much more believable than the actor playing the real Scott Stracinsky), but it's all easy to overlook. Why? The abduction details and alien mythology that slowly come to light are different than anything I've seen before; an intriguing blend of the interstellar and supernatural that blurs the lines between horror and sci-fi.

It's also the point at which The Fourth Kind will wrap some viewers in its web and leave others shaking their heads. For me, novelist Arthur C. Clarke's famous assertion that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" is exactly the line of thinking that allowed me to suspend my disbelief and accept everything Osunsanmi pulled out of his hat. I didn't consider what manner of technology would make any of it possible, nor did I stop to contemplate the motivation of the film's elusive aliens or the reasons behind their experiments. Osunsanmi has created a character-driven story that will frustrate anyone who has difficulty with ambiguity. He provides few answers, even fewer facts, and leaves most everything to his audience. However, the balance he strikes between character and two-pronged story is the film's biggest downfall. A handful of shots undermine the director's illusion and leave little room for interpretation -- a cruiser-cam and an officer's reaction to what it captures makes it clear whether Dr. Tyler's story should be believed or disregarded (and also calls August's continued skepticism into serious question) -- and worse, seem at odds with the questions posed at the end of Abagail's interview. As creepy as the developments in her tale become, they also reek of superficiality, and begin to show the seams in Osunsanmi and co-writer Terry Robbins' screenplay.

Ultimately, The Fourth Kind will strike some as a tense thrill-ride, and others as a misguided, overwrought failure. The first group will be comprised of those who accept the film at face value and spend little time searching for plot holes. The second will be filled with those who scrutinize every storyline and try to connect every proverbial dot. For those in the middle, Osunsanmi's genre pic will be an entertaining but fairly forgettable jump-n-jolt schlock-fest; an imperfect bit of frightening fun worth renting.

The Fourth Kind Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Fourth Kind arrives on Blu-ray with a strong, presumably faithful 1080p/VC-1 transfer; one that separates the actors' melodramatization even farther apart from the "real" footage the filmmakers procured of Nome's otherworldly encounters. When Jovovich and her castmates take center stage, the image proves itself to be quite striking. Rich colors, hearty blacks, and wonderfully rendered fine details rule the day, as do exceedingly crisp closeup textures, lifelike skintones, and brazen contrast leveling. Note Patton's wiry stubble, the translucent hairs on the back of Jovovich's neck, the tiniest pores that dot the actors' faces. A faint veneer of grain is present at all times, but compression artifacts are nowhere to be found, and other distracting issues -- aliasing, ringing, banding, and smearing -- are MIA. Yes, source noise and crush both make appearances, but they seem to be the product of Lorenzo Senatore's original photography, not Universal's transfer. However, alongside these oh-so-refined scenes come some of the most gnarled and noisy shots imaginable. Dr. Tyler's somber interviews are beset with garish aliasing that transform her sharp nose and sunken cheeks into flights of stairs; macroblocking turns each video clip into a muddled mess cursed with unwieldy blots of light and shadow; and definition and clarity are reduced to a gimmick. Of course, it's all meticulously designed to support the illusion Osunsanmi is creating, and every ungainly bit of it is intentional. It all makes for a schizophrenic, albeit effective presentation fans of the film will be delighted to see unfold in high definition.

The Fourth Kind Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is just as jarring, but even more mesmerizing. Osunsanmi draws his viewers forward with Jovovich's subdued therapy sessions and Patton's measured interrogations, only to send them hurtling back with a chaotic cacophony of unsettling noise; an explosion of dissonant strings, guttural screams, and high-pitched cries crafted and honed to assault the senses and unnerve anyone in earshot. LFE output is powerful to say the least -- an increasingly heavyset hum permeates every alien encounter, thundering effects and Atli Örvarsson's intense score form perfect sonic storms, and hurried police cruisers and shouting officers are anchored to the soundscape with legitimate weight and presence -- and rear speaker activity goes for the jugular (or its inner-ear equivalent). Moreover, dynamics are outstanding, directionality is so precise it's eerie, and pans are frighteningly smooth. That being said, I do wish quieter scenes weren't so restrained. I can't tell you how many times I had to adjust my volume, simply because a hushed conversation would be immediately followed by a deafening (at-times uncomfortably loud) burst of madness. Dialogue is almost always clean and intelligible (save the intentionally warbled, low-quality audio that accompanies the film's "real" video footage), and each audible deviation certainly enhances the film's overall impact, but be warned: The Fourth Kind isn't the sort of flick you can pop in while your family's trying to sleep upstairs.

The Fourth Kind Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of The Fourth Kind only includes one special feature, a 23-minute collection of deleted, extended, and alternate scenes (presented in standard definition), the majority of which retread ground that was covered far more convincingly in the final cut of the film.

The Fourth Kind Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Had Osunsanmi made a few relatively minor changes, The Fourth Kind could have possibly stood side by side with Paranormal Activity. Instead, it's merely a well-conceived thriller that tries a bit too hard. It certainly doesn't deserve the critical drubbing that met its theatrical release, but dig too deeply and the entire experience will begin to unravel. Thankfully, the only disappointment I encountered while perusing Universal's Blu-ray release was yet another unreasonably small and underdeveloped supplemental package. Otherwise, the disc satisfies with a sharp, faithful video transfer and a brawny DTS-HD Master Audio track primed to wake the neighbors. In the end, I enjoyed The Fourth Kind more than most, but a rental is definitely in order. Give it a rent, give it a spin, and see if it appeals to your sensibilities.