The Fourth Kind

For those of us already familiar with the work of Whitley Streiber, The Fourth Kind comes as no great scoop. Even the title of this picture relies on the success of others, most notably, one Mr Speilberg. Whilst the definition 'Third Kind' may well be a term that is used outside of movie theatres the world over, it is only due to Steven Spielberg's movie starring a bang on form Richard Dreyfuss that will cause the ears of nerds worldwide to prick up and take notice. For the enthusiasts on the subject, this is almost Gollum's 'precious'.

Using alleged footage of real interviews intermingled with actors replaying the same events, a great deal is made of the authenticity of it's own subject matter, even going so far as to have our star, Milla Jovovich explain as much to the audience at the beginning of the film, as if this act itself lends some weight to the credibility of the story about to unfold before our very eyes. Can it be true? How is it possible? Milla said it's true, so it must be, right? When Jovovich says 'some of the scenes are extremely disturbing', you do wonder if she had even the slightest inkling that the phrase may come back to haunt her with a whole new meaning.

For starters Jovovich, whilst indeed occasionally being a fine actor, is not credible enough a human being to take at face value, even if it's done with a straight face. This is not a message she is conveying to us out of need, or goodwill to mankind. This is a movie, a business, a (hopefully for some) profit making project. Trying to dress it up as anything else, especially given the subject matter, immediately puts any thinking viewer on the back foot with regards to any kind of authenticity the film is trying to portray. As such, this causes most scenes to be tinged with more doubt than there was there already, which was a considerable obstacle to begin with.

Now I'm not about to go into the point of the film or ask why aliens with the power to fly light years across galaxies would bother to stop off at earth and conduct experiments on humans, whisking them away in the middle of the night instead of in the daytime when they don't have to break in and then putting them back where they found them, completely intact, aside from any evidence of it happening or memory of it taking place. No. Not going to do that. Not going to let my own beliefs cloud my judgement of a piece of entertainment. For that is what it is, let us not forget that.

Jovovich's perfomance as Dr Abbey Tyler, the psychiatrist that gets just a little too involved with her patients for her own good, is acceptable enough. She is believable enough as a decent soul that truly wants to understand the mental anguish of her charges, to such an extent that she inevitably (for Hollywood) ends up becoming dangerously embroiled in something that she cannot begin to understand.

This is not a horror movie, nor does it really approach sci-fi. There is no CGI to speak of and the only real horror we witness is mental instability and the odd bucketful of paranoia thrown in for good measure. Knowing the outcome, as everybody does even before going into the film, there is little room for closure or satisfaction. Given that, the only real purpose is to see how the subject matter is handled and whether the performances do the big questions justice.

The only movie that bears close resemblance would be 'Communion' starring Christopher Walken as journalist and author Whitley Streiber, adapted from the book of the same name that he also wrote. The same incredulity followed the release of his book and the movie that should follow this around like a bad smell. If anything, Streibers efforts, aided by a stunning performance from Walken may have had more credibility than this effort, even if we were afforded at least a view of his abductors, which you do not get here.

This would be largely due to the performances plus it was written by a man with an eye for the fantastic, plus another eye for a good piece of marketing. That film was infintely more entertaining, and at the end of the day, what does a true story with no evidence to substantiate it have to be if not entertaining? It cannot be anything else, if not a failure, surely.

The Fourth Kind does not deliver in many areas, it must be said, but Jovovich does work hard for her money, and the supporting cast do their best with the material they are afforded, but as I have already mentioned, if you want to watch a movie about abduction that you know is open to interpretation, but still hold an element of possibility and stills retains it's right to entertain throughout, rent 'Communion' instead.

Not convincing enough of an argument laid out before us here, given that it comes at the cost of decent entertainment.