The Fourth Kind

Well Made Rubbish, 25 November 2009

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom


The essence of this story, alleged unexplained alien abductions in Alaska, is fine.However the " based on true events/ using original footage" artifice is one dimensional, and fails.The Documentary style film, so brilliantly originally popularly exploited in the "Blair Witch Project", and recently reprised in "District Nine" has as many disadvantages as advantages.This time round the down sides triumph.

The ambiguity between actual and recreated footage becomes confusing, and then unravels so that the viewer really does not care. Milla Jovocich stars as Abbey Tyler whose child is abducted,Will Patton takes the male lead as the bemused, confused and frightened town Sheriff. The "original footage" eschews a conventional narrative style, and the disjointed results are never compensated for by the value of the shockfootage.

Although credit should be given for trying to present the story in an innovative manner, a conventional narrative dramatisation of events would have been more effective. A good story wasted.This is Director Olatunde Osunsanmi's debut feature, he promises little for the future