UFO Movie Review:
The Fourth Kind
by Sam Willey

WARNING - May contain spoilers!

'The Fourth Kind' hit movie screens on November 6th 2009, after many months of hype and chilling trailers. It could perhaps be noted as the Science Fiction of the year with the trailer and supporting information stating the movie is based on actual events. The movie has sparked speculation across the internet, questioning the authenticity of the production directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi and starring 'Resident Evil' actress Milla Jovovich.

The movie is set in Nome, Alaska which is said to be the scene of a number of strange disappearances and deaths since the 1960's. The town of just over 3,500 inhabitants, one of which was apparently a psychologist, by the name of Dr. Abigail Tyler. In 2000 Tyler was reportedly providing therapy to a number of Nome residents experiencing sleeping difficulties. It is eventually thought, after regression hypnosis with the residents, that Tyler's patients may be experiencing contact and abduction by alien visitors. Tyler apparently kept video records of all hypnosis sessions with all the victims of the horrifying alien encounters. At the start of the film Jovovich appears out of character on screen informing the audience that everything we are about to see is based on archived footage. The footage has allegedly been obtained from Abigail Tyler and displays the actual alien abductees. This archive footage appears alongside the reconstructed footage in which Jovovich portrays Dr. Abigail Tyler.

Dr. Abigail Tyler is the only named, alleged witness to the Nome abductions. No other witnesses are named at any point during the film, the witnesses are instead given an alias and when names are actually mentioned during the archive footage, the name is blanked out. In addition to archive video footage, we also hear audio recordings, recovered from the records of Abigail Tyler. At some stages footage from police car video cameras are also featured, one of which displays a possible UFO leaving the vicinity of a house after abduction has occurred. One piece of police footage even shows one of the abduction victims gone completely insane shooting his wife, two children and then himself.

The main question with regards to this production by Universal is how real the actual events detailed are. It is the main question which has sparked debate ever since this movie was announced. The archived footage really shocked me, I got a huge scare from the reconstructed footage, but the actual archived footage was one of a kind. I was literally stuck to my seat in complete disbelief at the power the archived footage presented. The fear displayed in the eyes of those abductees did not seem fabricated; it looked and felt like the emotion being relayed by those people was genuine. I remember at one stage my jaw literally dropped in shock due to some of the intense reactions the victims have whilst under hypnosis. But with that said the fact of authenticity can't be left down to that entirely. The archived footage may seem emotionally intense, but we have been tricked by well done video footage in the past. Many appear to be hunting for records of Dr. Abigail Tyler, but so far no information confirming the existence of Tyler has surfaced. Which raises the question of why did the director not reveal evidence of Tyler's existence if in fact she was a real psychiatrist practicing in Nome. A basic document such as Tyler's certificate showing her qualifications would probably be enough to end accusations of fabrication.

With this in mind there is evidence that false information with regards to Abigail Tyler has been published online. A web site called the 'Alaska Psychiatry Journal' complete with a biography of a psychologist by the name of Abigail Tyler. Since the website was found out to be a fake the site has since been shut down, in addition according to domain-name research sites the domain was only created a month ago. Furthermore Denise Dillard, president of the Alaska Psychological Association said she has never heard of the 'Alaska Psychiatry Journal' or of a Dr. Abigail Tyler.

One thing which cannot be denied with regards to Nome, Alaska are the many mysterious deaths and disappearances which have occurred in the area since the 1960's. An article published in June 2006 by Tom Kizzia of the Anchorage Daily News confirms this. The article is in relation to 24 missing persons and suspicious death cases assembled by Nome police. Within those 24 cases, three families asked for them to be left alone and in 9 cases no bodies were ever found. The mysterious deaths caused Nome residents to spread theory that a serial killer may have been targeting people however; the FBI concluded that no evidence existed to support this theory. The FBI also noted that there was a lack of trauma shown on some of the recovered bodies. Nome Police Chief Craig Moates said at the time that in nine of the cases, a re-examination of available evidence produced definitive outcomes. It was also stated that alcohol was apparently a common factor in cases. Whatever way you look at the article it is highly vague with little explanation and expansion of points made.

Click Here - for the full article on the Nome, Alaska mystery

In the movie the abductors are identified as using an ancient Sumerian language dating back to before the time of Christ. Upon translation by an individual (not named) who apparently wrote a book on the subject the aliens are heard using terms such as "I am god" and "destroy". This has caused many critics to question why they would be using Sumerian language. One detail that I considered at this particular stage was the fact that many believe the human race descended from some cosmic civilization. And with the abductors saying "I am god" this reminds me of people who have reported Near Death Experiences, saying they went down a tunnel towards a light, very similar to abduction scenarios.

In conclusion this movie can be seen in totally different ways. At the end of the film both the director Olatunde Osunsanmi and actress Milla Jovovich appear out of character, on screen telling us that what we believe is for us to decide. With this in mind you can see the film as either a fantastic science fiction thriller, full to the brim of scare and mystery or you can see it as possible evidence of alien abduction. Or you can even see it as a bit of both, maybe this movie is a complete fabrication but there are still all those missing person cases which simply cannot be fabricated.

'The Fourth Kind' gains a UFO Radio rating of 9/10