Published: Friday, November 6, 2009
Gimmicks wear out quickly in ‘The Fourth Kind’
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Associated Press/Universal Pictures, Simon Vesrano
Milla Jovovich (left) plays a psychologist and Elias Koteas a scientist in “The Fourth Kind.”
A clever marketing campaign in search of a movie, “The Fourth Kind” tries to cash in on the current trend in horror movies: pretending to be a documentary to raise gooseflesh.
With pseudo-documentaries such as “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity,” the conceit can be enjoyed for what it is. “The Fourth Kind” wants us to believe that actual documentary footage, video and audio, has been incorporated into the movie to beef up its scare factor.
This begins as actress Milla Jovovich approaches the camera in the opening shot and says, “I’m actress Milla Jovovich,” to make sure we don’t confuse her for the plumber Milla Jovovich.
She informs us that what we’re about to see is a true story and that the re-creations with actors precisely conform to actual events.
Set in Nome, Alaska, the movie purports to reveal a series of mysterious killings and abductions, which might have something extraterrestrial behind them.
Jovovich plays one “Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler,” a psychologist whose hypnosis techniques reveal her patients’ disturbing encounters.
Ah, but we also see the director of “The Fourth Kind,” Olatunde Osunsanmi, conducting a rough-looking video interview with a woman identified as the actual Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler.
Grainy footage from her hypnosis sessions is played alongside actors’ re-enactments, the better to creep us out. Could it be real? Does videotape really fuzz out when aliens enter the room? Did the extraterrestrials who built the pyramids really speak Sumerian?
No, it isn’t real, although I can’t debunk the stuff about the pyramids. No comment on Bigfoot, either.
The filmmakers have done an energetic job of planting fake stories about “Dr. Tyler” online and otherwise teasing out their fictional nonfiction all the way.
The result is a kooky viewing experience, with scenes played in splitscreen and with subtitles to identify characters (and even actors, as though to keep reminding us that we’re watching a re-enactment).
There isn’t much drama generated by the plot itself. It comes as a relief when actor Will Patton (not the plumber Will Patton) comes along to deliver a hammy performance as the skeptical town sheriff. Elias Koteas contributes his customary pained sensitivity as Dr. Tyler’s skeptical colleague.
“The Fourth Kind” is an odd movie to screen for the press in advance.
Am I supposed to play along, not issuing (heaven forbid) spoilers about the bogusness of the movie’s gimmick?
Sorry, folks — not when the gimmick is the whole show.
“The Fourth Kind” ½
Murders and abductions in Nome, Alaska, presented as a breathless semi-documentary with supposedly “real” footage of patients freaking out as they recall alien encounters. The mileage in this bogus gimmick runs out pretty quickly, especially as the movie keeps reminding us that it’s all supposed to be authentic. Milla Jovovich plays a psychologist on the case.
Rated: PG-13 for violence, language, subject matter
Showing: Alderwood, Cinebarre Mountlake Terrace, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Meridian, Metro, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall
With pseudo-documentaries such as “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity,” the conceit can be enjoyed for what it is. “The Fourth Kind” wants us to believe that actual documentary footage, video and audio, has been incorporated into the movie to beef up its scare factor.
This begins as actress Milla Jovovich approaches the camera in the opening shot and says, “I’m actress Milla Jovovich,” to make sure we don’t confuse her for the plumber Milla Jovovich.
She informs us that what we’re about to see is a true story and that the re-creations with actors precisely conform to actual events.
Set in Nome, Alaska, the movie purports to reveal a series of mysterious killings and abductions, which might have something extraterrestrial behind them.
Jovovich plays one “Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler,” a psychologist whose hypnosis techniques reveal her patients’ disturbing encounters.
Ah, but we also see the director of “The Fourth Kind,” Olatunde Osunsanmi, conducting a rough-looking video interview with a woman identified as the actual Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler.
Grainy footage from her hypnosis sessions is played alongside actors’ re-enactments, the better to creep us out. Could it be real? Does videotape really fuzz out when aliens enter the room? Did the extraterrestrials who built the pyramids really speak Sumerian?
No, it isn’t real, although I can’t debunk the stuff about the pyramids. No comment on Bigfoot, either.
The filmmakers have done an energetic job of planting fake stories about “Dr. Tyler” online and otherwise teasing out their fictional nonfiction all the way.
The result is a kooky viewing experience, with scenes played in splitscreen and with subtitles to identify characters (and even actors, as though to keep reminding us that we’re watching a re-enactment).
There isn’t much drama generated by the plot itself. It comes as a relief when actor Will Patton (not the plumber Will Patton) comes along to deliver a hammy performance as the skeptical town sheriff. Elias Koteas contributes his customary pained sensitivity as Dr. Tyler’s skeptical colleague.
“The Fourth Kind” is an odd movie to screen for the press in advance.
Am I supposed to play along, not issuing (heaven forbid) spoilers about the bogusness of the movie’s gimmick?
Sorry, folks — not when the gimmick is the whole show.
“The Fourth Kind” ½
Murders and abductions in Nome, Alaska, presented as a breathless semi-documentary with supposedly “real” footage of patients freaking out as they recall alien encounters. The mileage in this bogus gimmick runs out pretty quickly, especially as the movie keeps reminding us that it’s all supposed to be authentic. Milla Jovovich plays a psychologist on the case.
Rated: PG-13 for violence, language, subject matter
Showing: Alderwood, Cinebarre Mountlake Terrace, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Meridian, Metro, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall
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