The Third Kind

 Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, starring Milla Jovovich.

'There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction.'


The film 'The Fourth Kind' concentrates on the town of Nome in Alaska and the sleep deprevation that the majority of its inhabitants suffer with. Psychologist Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) notices the similarities between many of her patients symptoms, the white owl that sits outside of their homes, never moving or changing. She sets out to discover what is traumatising them, these discoveries lead her to a disturbing truth, that there maybe something other wordly terrorising the town.


Now that I've set up the story for you, I can be honest, this film leaves a lot to be desired! For Milla Jovovich to announce at the beginning of the film that it is based on real events and contains real footage immediatley sets off alarm bells. The advertising campaign carried out for this film is very much like the massive internet advertising campaign carried out by the makers of The Blair Witch Project. Their campaign managed to capture our imagination and drove millions of us to the box office, 'The Fourth Kind' however lacks the originality produced by The Blair Witch Project. The 'real footage' seems contrived and scripted, with an unconvincing performance from the 'real' Abigail Tyler, if she even exists. Also, for the director to put himself centre stage is narcasstic, Alfred Hitchcock he ain't.

All of the three slightly scary moments in the film you will have already seen in the advert. Don't get me wrong, these moments do make you feel uneasy but also a little jipped when, convieniently, the interference obstructs your view of the fourth kind. Oh and the alien's speak an ancient language which is only half heartedly translated for us, leaving us all the more perplexed as to who these alien's are and what the purpose is for abducting these people.

Thank God for Milla Jovovich, her performance is convincing and heartbreaking. She never fails to keep you in the moment and you do genuinely feel her frustration at the lack of understanding and mainly fear from the police of the town.Unfortunatley we have two annoying children to contest with, a 'wise beyond his years' son and a daughter who's blind (queue sympathy). The character of fellow psychologist and friend of Abigail Tyler, Abel Campos (Elias Koteas) could be seen as symbolising the audience's voice, he attributes every incident to something based in reality eg. hallucinations, dementia. Where as Abigail Tyler is quick to believe the alien theory, he is more cautious.

The film ends with both Milla Jovoich and the director Olatunde Osunsanmi leaving the decision to us. We have be shown the facts and footage, now it is the audiences turn to choose whether to believe or not.

My advice? If you believe in aliens, it would probably be better to watch War of the World's again and feel your heart sink as Tom Cruise survives.

Rating: K K - That's just for Milla's performance!

Kayleigh x