Role: Dr. Abigail “Abbey” Tyler
Genre: Science Fiction-Horror
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Written by: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Running time: 98 min
Budget: $10 million
Release Date: November 6, 2009
Additional Cast: Elias Koteas, Will Patton, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Corey Johnson
Synopsis
Fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up. (Credit: Internet Movie Database)
Production
The Fourth Kind marks the directorial debut of Olatunde Osunsanmi. According to the filmmakers, the film, the title of which refers to the fourth kind of alien contact – abduction, mixes actual, archived footage with a dramatized “reenactment” of a series of mysterious events in Nome, Alaska. Milla Jovovich stars as Dr. Abigail “Abbey” Tyler, a psychologist investigating the strange experiences and disappearances of Nome residents.
Filming of The Fourth Kind took place in Bulgaria, Europe in June 2008, and has since wrapped.
Milla talked about the film to ShockTillYouDrop.com in August 2009
It’s based on a true story and it’s a psychological thriller. It’s really scary at times because you really feel the emotional breakdown of this woman and there’s a lot of really strange disappearances that have going on in this small town in Alaska. She gets involved and in a sense loses her mind from everything. It was an interesting character to play just to be able to get in the mind frame of a totally normal person that could believe completely abnormal things because of trauma and stress.
Trailer and TV spots for the film began surfacing online in July 2009; HD screen captures, promotional stills and posters are available at our gallery. The Fourth Kind premiered in U.S. theaters November 6 2009, to a largely critical audience. The film is now available on North American and European DVD.
Critical Reception
– The Fourth Kind received mainly negative reviews from critics. The film has an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 114 reviews. The site’s consensus reads “While it boasts a handful of shocks, The Fourth Kind is hokey and clumsy and makes its close encounters seem eerily mundane.”
– Critic Roger Ebert gave it one and a half stars out of four, comparing it unfavorably to Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, while praising Milla Jovovich’s acting.
– According to the Anchorage Daily News, “Nomeites didn’t much like the film exploiting unexplained disappearances of Northwest Alaskans, most of whom likely perished due to exposure to the harsh climate, as science fiction nonsense. The Alaska press liked even less the idea of news stories about unexplained disappearances in the Nome area being used to hype some “kind” of fake documentary”.
– Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called the film “rote and listless.”
– CNN reviewer Breanna Hare criticized The Fourth Kind for “marketing fiction as truth”. Nome, Alaska Mayor Denise Michels called it “Hollywood hooey”. According to Michels, “people need to realize that this is a science fiction thriller”. Michels also compared the film to The Blair Witch Project, saying, “we’re just hoping the message gets out that this is supposed to be for entertainment.”