The Fourth Kind

With some films, no matter how much you want to love them, it just gets difficult. The Fourth Kind is definitely one of those films.
As a fan of horror more than science fiction, I will admit that the advertisements were able to capture my attention and portray this as the sort of film that will leave viewers spooked long after its viewing. Especially with the docu-fiction use of "actual footage", this had an infinite amount of potential.
But somewhere along the line, it lost its focus and alienated its audience. (Sure, it's a bad play on words, but I had to.)
Based on interviews between writer-director Olatunde Osunsanmi (The Cavern) and Dr. Abigail Tyler, and "real" footage from her psychiatric sessions with patients - all of which are shown on screen - the film dramatizes those things that were never captured, splices it with "real" audio and video files, and sells it to you "to decide" whether or not you believe it.
Milla Jovovich portrays the fictional Tyler, a psychiatrist in Nome, Alaska, who sees connections with some of her patients' sleep behaviour (usually around 3:33 a.m.). She hunts down the truth to these connections, along with the death of her husband, while trying not to become the next victim of these strange occurances.
The premise of the film is strong, mixing the "real" footage with dramatizations - and alerting the viewer of this intent - creates what should be a somewhat believable situation. Instead, the viewer is left to question the legitimacy of the interviews with Tyler, the "real" footage and the overall authenticity of everything presented on screen.
Beyond the rumours circling on the Web - such as the lack of records on a Dr. Abigail Tyler in Nome, Alaska - it's hard to believe anything in this film, which is why "real" is included in quotations throughout this review. It manages to make the audience jump a few times, and the "real" footage is certainly creepy in moments, but it isn't engaging enough to stand up against other films with similar technique - The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity.
In the end, The Fourth Kind serves only as a somewhat entertaining extended episode of Unsolved Mysteries.
Actually, it's 3:33 as I write this. Maybe I should lock my door?
-Matthew Hadley