THE FOURTH KIND
RYAN: I was so excited to see the new sci-fi thriller, “The Fourth Kind,” because I love both this genre and Milla Jovovich.
CAROLINE: When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it looked intriguing; especially the way she addresses the camera and talks about how the movie is based on real stories, etc. It looked so freaky that it kind of grabbed me. But then I decided it was too freaky for me to see, so I sent you to the screening alone.
RYAN: I was so ready to see an über scary movie for a change, but sadly this isn’t it. It made me jump twice, but other than that, it’s just stupid.
CAROLINE: I can’t say I’m shocked. They’re trying to do that whole “This is based on real events” thing and it’s hard to buy it – especially since it’s about alien abduction. It seems like they’re trying too hard to scare us or something.
RYAN: I am totally willing to suspend my disbelief and contemplate the possibility of alien abduction, and I’m sure there are people who truly believe that aliens have taken them in the night. But could have made this movie truly terrifying, and instead it’s just cliché and cheesy.
CAROLINE: How’s Milla?
RYAN: She’s pretty good. But the weird thing is that she comes out as herself at the beginning, just like in the trailer, and announces that parts of the movie is re-enactments and that other parts are actual recordings and footage… but it’s clearly not true. I think they were trying to pull a Blair Witch on us and “sell” to the audience that this was the real footage of people who claim they’ve been abducted. Practically the whole movie is split screen with Milla and the so-called real footage. I was like, “Why not just make a documentary then?”
CAROLINE: It sounds like a cheat.
RYAN: It’s such a cheat. You can tell how fake the “real” moments are. There’s no way this stuff was really caught on tape because if it was, it would be all over the news and we’d all be afraid to go to sleep at night. It’s a total hoax of a movie and I don’t think anyone’s going to buy it.
CAROLINE: Let’s be honest, the scary movie of choice right now is “Paranormal Activity.” Poor Milla doesn’t stand a chance.
RYAN: If this movie had come out before “Paranormal Activity,” maybe it could have stood a chance. But it’s so bogus; I just can’t see anyone liking it.
CAROLINE: Are there any cool special effects at least?
RYAN: The effects are OK, and there are a couple of genuinely creepy moments where I jumped out of my seat. But most of the parts are just trying to be scary with music and editing. At the end of the day, “Misery” is still scarier.
CAROLINE: I love that that’s your yardstick for scary movies.
— BOTTOM LINE–
RYAN: High school kids might like this, but for anyone who’s a true fan of sci-fi or is really looking to be scared, this movie is a total waste of time.
— RATING —
