Screen Rant reviews The Fourth Kind

After the extreme split in opinions on Paranormal Activity (I liked it), I was curious to see The Fourth Kind to see which side of the fence I fell on. I can understand how you can either love or hate the former, and I have a feeling something similar will happen with this film: Either you buy into the whole premise and let it suck you in, or you stand back and call B.S. on the whole thing.

The Fourth Kind opens unexpectedly, with Milla Jovovich as herself talking plainly to the audience. She speaks matter of factly and seriously, telling us the details upon which the film we are about to see are based. In addition to actors portraying real people (most of whom will have their names changed in the film) there will be scenes of actual video shot during the events portrayed in the movie. It will be disturbing, she tells us.

What will be so disturbing? The account of Alaskan psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler (played by Milla), taken from her notes, videotapes (and a personal interview by director Olatunde Osunsanmi) which tells the story of the strange nocturnal experiences of a number of residents of Nome Alaska in the Summer/Fall of 2000. A number of townsfolk have all been experiencing the same unique visions and sleeplessness at night – similar in details that could not be coincidental, and they’ve individually turned to her for help in determining what these things mean.

They all share visions of being watched by a strange white owl in the middle of the night. This sounds goofy, but when they intercut footage of the actual people in her office relating their story – each on their own and each story with the same details – the creepiness factor starts to escalate. And it only gets worse as Dr. Tyler delves deeper into their psyches to unearth buried details via hypnosis.

What starts her down the path of “something really weird is going on” is the fact that going back to the 1960s there have been (for a town of its size) an awful lot of unexplained missing people in Nome. The FBI has gone out multiple times to try and find answers and has always come up blank. One of her sessions leads to a very tragic event, putting her at odds with the town sheriff who believes she is stirring people up and causing harm. Eventually things come to a head, get really crazy and out of hand, and bring us to the present day interview that is threaded throughout the film.

The creep factor comes in from assuming that what you’re watching is, in fact, true and that the homemade videos are all in fact legitimate. However I will say that the farther you get into the film the more you have to suspend your disbelief – especially with some of what appears in the supposedly real camcorder footage. I won’t give anything away, but you’ll understand if you see the movie.

If you don’t buy into that concept at least a little bit, then The Fourth Kind will leave you as cold as Paranormal Activity did for people who didn’t go along for the ride with that film. However if you let it get in your head, I think you’ll find that The Fourth Kind is even more effective at freaking you out and causing you some nervousness after you turn off the last light at night and head off to bed.

Update: We’ve added a featurette for The Fourth Kind

With Halloween arriving this week, moviegoers are going to be on the hunt for that perfect spooky film in which to scarf all their Trick ‘R Treat candy. After the low-budget ghost flick Paranormal Activity carved up  Saw VI, at the box office this past weekend, it seems as though Halloween moviegoers are in the market for something new (something BOO!) this year.

Following just on the heels of the scariest day of the year comes The Fourth Kind, a movie which recounts the “true events” of one doctor’s (Milla Jovovich) investigation into a town whose residents experienced shared phenomenon having to do (supposedly) with alien abduction.

So, alien abduction theorists, are you guys as dedicated as the leagues of ghost hunters out there? Will The Fourth Kind become the next fright flick box office smash? Or will it be the next competitor to fall before the steamroll of Paranormal Activity? Check out the official synopsis for The Fourth Kind:

In 1972, a scale of measurement was established for alien encounters. When a UFO is sighted, it is called an encounter of the first kind. When evidence is collected, it is known as an encounter of the second kind. When contact is made with extraterrestrials, it is the third kind. The next level, abduction, is the fourth kind.

Modern-day, Alaska, where-mysteriously since th e1960s a disproportionate number of the population has been reported missing every year. Despite multiple FBI investigations of the region, the truth has never been discovered. Here in this remote region, psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler (Jovovich) began videotaping sessions with traumatized patients and unwittingly discovered some of the most disturbing evidence of alien abduction ever documented. The Fourth Kind exposes the terrified revelations of multiple witnesses. Their accounts of being visited by alien figures all share disturbingly identical details, the validity of which is investigated throughout the film.

Aliens or Ghosts:which is creepier to have in your bedroom at night?

“Real world” fright activity recorded in home movies -- sound familiar? We have some early reviews from our blogosphere friends that claim The Fourth Kind is indeed a genuine creepfest that will please audiences looking for a good fright flick (read: one that’s actually scary). However, The Fourth Kind is curiously devoid of critical reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which could be a sign that either the film hasn’t been screened all that much for critics, or that the reviews have been embargoed until the release date gets closer. Neither scenario is typically a good sign for an upcoming movie…

However, there’s been a sharp divide between the opinions of movie critics and movie fans as of late, so we’ll let you be the judge of your own tastes. Check out a trailer and a clip for The Fourth Kind:

TRAILER

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVRHOhLP-aA

CLIP

www.youtube.com/watch?v=emw7BsK0NaY

FEATURETTE

So, are you still looking for that one film this Fall season that will give you the goosebumps? Or has Paranormal Activity already become your new favorite fright flick?

The Fourth Kind also stars Will Patton and Elias Koteas (Zodiac) and will be in theaters on November 6, 2009. Find out more about the “true story” behind the movie by going HERE.

]]> http://screenrant.com/the-fourth-kind-paranormal-activity-kofi-32051/feed/ 28 http://screenrant.com/poster-friday-youth-in-revolt-invictus-heavy-metal-rob-31876/ http://screenrant.com/poster-friday-youth-in-revolt-invictus-heavy-metal-rob-31876/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:37:19 +0000 Rob Keyes http://screenrant.com/?p=31876

Happy Friday everyone! For the last Friday of October before Halloween weekend, we’ve again gathered the latest posters to come out for this week’s poster round-up.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes new one-sheets for Nowhere Man, Séraphine, Cabin Fever 2, Invictus, Collapse, House of the Devil, Late Fee, Jennifer’s Body, Zombieland, Everybody’s Fine, The Fouth Kind, The Road, Kniga Masterov (Book of Masters), The Bleeding, Gentlemen Broncos and Youth in Revolt.

In addition to that, we have a little somethin’ somethin’ for Disney’s A Christmas Carol and Heavy Metal.

Let’s get to it.

To start, here’s a poster for the John Lennon biopic, titled Nowhere Boy which stars Aaron Johnson as legendary Beatle.

Nowhere Man opens in the UK on December 25 and is directed by Sam Taylor Wood.

Source: The Playlist

I’m a wuss. I freely admit it. I watch horror films in the theater by myself under the guise of being manly and not letting different types of horror get to me. However, if you were to see me in a theater watching a particular type of horror film you’ll notice I wear a cap. That cap remains pulled closely to my eyebrows so I can easily block my gaze from the horror images on the screen. See I told you, WUSS! I do feel very proud of myself for putting on my big boy pants and strolling into the theater to begin with though.

So what kinds of horror get to me? Hauntings and alien abduction movies are top on my list for turning me into a puddle of wussiness. Movies like Fire in the Sky, Poltergeist, Amityville Horror, The Haunting in Connecticut, the new smash hit Paranormal Activity and any movie that is based on a real life ghost, haunting or alien event are on my strict no-watch list. (To this day I swear I was abducted and tested on).  That’s why you will not see me in line, cap or no cap, to watch Milla Jovovich in the upcoming alien abduction movie The Fourth Kind.

The Fourth Kind claims to be based on the real life events of Doctor Abigail Tyler (Jovovich) as she tries to understand why so many people in Nome, Alaska have been reported missing and alien abductions have been reported over the past forty years. The deeper she digs, the further she goes and begins to suspect, yup, yet another government conspiracy. Sort of a blasé way to take the story if you ask me; but what do I know, I’m a wuss.

Well, if this is the kind of movie you can’t wait to have nightmares to, then watch the two new TV spots below courtesy of Bloody Disgusting. Just make sure you have your ball cap pulled down tight:

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Can I look up yet? OK, great. So what did you think? Would you be sleeping well if a white owl was outside your window? I guarantee that little feathery, big-eyed bugger would get a few rounds from my Daisy Air Pump BB Gun.  It’ll be lights on for me for the next few weeks. Olatunde Osunsanmi writes, directs and as a secondary action makes me pee a little. I think the scariest parts are the “recorded” scenes of actual film footage from Dr. Tyler’s sessions. (brrrrrr heebee jeebees)

Assuming you aren’t as big as wuss as me, are you planning to see The Fourth Kind and what do you think of it so far?

The Fourth Kind abducts and probes you everywhere November 6^th, 2009.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

Happy Friday everyone! Today we’ve again gathered the latest posters to come out for this week’s poster round-up.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes one-sheets for Toy Story 3, Saw VI, Paranormal Activity, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Blind Side, Dark Country, Jekyll & Hyde, The Hole, Get Low, The Descent: Part 2, The Karate Kid, The Fourth Kind, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and A Christmas Carol.

But that’s not all! We also have the latest sets of character banners for Where The Wild Things Are and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Let’s get to it.

To start, here’s the first teaser poster for Toy Story 3 thanks to our friends at Latino Review:

Source: Latino Review