Redbox Review: The Fourth Kind (2009)

Yikes! The film is Olatunde Osunsanmi's The Fourth Kind, starring Milla Jovovich. I chose to title the review for what it is- a Redbox review- meaning it is worth no more than a dollar. The film takes place in Alaska and follows the research of Dr. Abbey Tyler (Jovovich), a therapist that is beginning to uncover strange coincidences between unrelated patients concerning an owl outside their window at night. The further Dr. Tyler explores these abnormal incidents, the more she feels they are of a higher intelligence and of another world. My biggest issue with The Fourth Kind is its attempt to persuade the viewer into believing that its based on some sort of documented evidence- which it's not. The film refers to no-name actress Charlotte Milchard's character as "the real Dr. Tyler", whereas she is credited as "the 'real' Dr. Tyler". Some scenes consist of a split screen, including one side of the screen depicting the actors playing these "real" individuals, and the other side portraying the "real" footage. The problem with this is that neither side of the screen is actual footage, leaving inquisitive viewers confused of the writer/director's motives. If a film can make the audience believe, if only for a moment, that what they are watching is real, than it has succeeded above all expectations. Not only did Fourth fail miserably at this, but it failed to thrill this viewer even once. Between the ongoing lies, c-list acting (sadly even from Jovovich), the camera work being equivalent to a high-school educational video, and an overall feeble premise, Fourth Kind wouldn't even qualify as a worthy day-time SyFy original movie. This film earns 1 star on a good day.