GoldenRivet
11-29-09, 08:38 PM
There are several types of Alien Abduction movies out there, for example:
You have the Sci Fi thrillers that are adorned with full on alien abduction scenes (See: Fire in the sky, 1993; Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind 1977)
You have the Multi-Faceted story lines of UFOs, Abductions, and the good bad and ugly of the Aliens. (See: Communion, 1989; Intruders 1992)
and finally you have the open ended documentaries, where some rather fantastic "eye witness accounts" are either recounted verbally or recreated with actors. In this category... the viewer leaves the theater with no more evidence about UFOs and Aliens than when he walked in... The Fourth Kind rests in this category.
The fourth kind tells the supposedly true story of a Nome, Alaska psychologist who has recently lost her husband to what she recalls as a "murder" by an intruder into her home. The death of her husband is still under investigation by local authorities.
While she attempts to put her life back on track with her son and daughter she continues her psychological practice which is quite the normal seeing of patients day in and day out.
One day, a man comes into her office suffering from some sort of sleep disorder. In her attempts to get to the bottom of his sleep disorder, she places him under hypnosis. While under hypnosis, the man recalls that he cannot sleep because a "white owl" is staring at him through his bedroom window.
as she continues to see patients she discovers that they are all having the same sleep disorder experience... lack of sleep because of the visitation of this white owl, which is now finding its way into their homes somehow.
As her investigation into the "psychological causes" of their lack of sleep continues, the hypnosis sessions become more and more frightening... none of her patients actually come out and say "I was abducted by Aliens from Planet Zega Fifteen." but they do suggest that its "not an owl... its them... they have come for me." etc.
As the story progresses onward, the psychologist begins to have a similar experience... one night, while dictating her cases into a tape recorder she falls fast asleep... she captures on tape her own alleged - albeit terrifying abduction experience.
The story unfolds in a way that paints a few possibilities... one is that this psychologist has lost her mind and is somehow responsible for a number of the strange occurrences taking place in the town. Another suggestion is that Alien beings who shaped early human civilization in ancient Sumaria are abducting people in Alaska.
In the end it is up to the viewer to decide which is the case.
If you are looking for a good "put the pieces of the puzzle together for yourself" type of movie... The Fourth Kind is probably worth the $6.50 ticket price, it is thought provoking and there are several good "jump out of your seat" type moments.
If you're going to the theater in hopes of seeing an alien probe some some truck driver's anus on the side of a lonely Alaskan highway... skip it... because the only Anus getting probed will be your own - there is not one single "Alien" depicted in any way shape or form in the entire 98 minutes of the film.
You have the Sci Fi thrillers that are adorned with full on alien abduction scenes (See: Fire in the sky, 1993; Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind 1977)
You have the Multi-Faceted story lines of UFOs, Abductions, and the good bad and ugly of the Aliens. (See: Communion, 1989; Intruders 1992)
and finally you have the open ended documentaries, where some rather fantastic "eye witness accounts" are either recounted verbally or recreated with actors. In this category... the viewer leaves the theater with no more evidence about UFOs and Aliens than when he walked in... The Fourth Kind rests in this category.
The fourth kind tells the supposedly true story of a Nome, Alaska psychologist who has recently lost her husband to what she recalls as a "murder" by an intruder into her home. The death of her husband is still under investigation by local authorities.
While she attempts to put her life back on track with her son and daughter she continues her psychological practice which is quite the normal seeing of patients day in and day out.
One day, a man comes into her office suffering from some sort of sleep disorder. In her attempts to get to the bottom of his sleep disorder, she places him under hypnosis. While under hypnosis, the man recalls that he cannot sleep because a "white owl" is staring at him through his bedroom window.
as she continues to see patients she discovers that they are all having the same sleep disorder experience... lack of sleep because of the visitation of this white owl, which is now finding its way into their homes somehow.
As her investigation into the "psychological causes" of their lack of sleep continues, the hypnosis sessions become more and more frightening... none of her patients actually come out and say "I was abducted by Aliens from Planet Zega Fifteen." but they do suggest that its "not an owl... its them... they have come for me." etc.
As the story progresses onward, the psychologist begins to have a similar experience... one night, while dictating her cases into a tape recorder she falls fast asleep... she captures on tape her own alleged - albeit terrifying abduction experience.
The story unfolds in a way that paints a few possibilities... one is that this psychologist has lost her mind and is somehow responsible for a number of the strange occurrences taking place in the town. Another suggestion is that Alien beings who shaped early human civilization in ancient Sumaria are abducting people in Alaska.
In the end it is up to the viewer to decide which is the case.
If you are looking for a good "put the pieces of the puzzle together for yourself" type of movie... The Fourth Kind is probably worth the $6.50 ticket price, it is thought provoking and there are several good "jump out of your seat" type moments.
If you're going to the theater in hopes of seeing an alien probe some some truck driver's anus on the side of a lonely Alaskan highway... skip it... because the only Anus getting probed will be your own - there is not one single "Alien" depicted in any way shape or form in the entire 98 minutes of the film.