'Fourth Kind' portrays real story of alien abductions in Alaska

According to scientist J. Allen Hyneck, there are different levels of encounters related to alien observation or activity. An encounter of the first kind deals with the sighting of an unidentified flying object. An encounter of the second kind involves the sighting of and physical effects of a UFO. An encounter of the third kind refers to the observation of "animate beings" associated with UFOs.

Now, encounters of the fourth kind are the creepy ones you'd probably want to worry about. Those are the white light, slightly blurred, drag-you-off-in-a-spaceship-and-slice-you-open encounters. That's right, fourth encounters deal specifically with human abductions by UFOs or their inhabitants.

Naturally, "Fourth Kind" focuses exactly on this subject matter. The film follows the experiences of Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler, played by Milla Jovovich, a psychologist who notices a pattern emerging from the stories of a number of her patients in Nome, Alaska. Tyler, who is in a bit of a fragile state due to her husband's recent "murder", which she cannot fully remember, begins to put her patients under hypnosis so that they can better explain their experiences to her.

It is during these moments of hypnosis, all caught on video, that Tyler begins to believe that her patients all have had encounters of the fourth kind. Throw in a sinister dead language, multiple suicides, and disturbing footage of seemingly possessed patients, and you'll have a pretty good sense of what "Fourth Kind" aims at addressing.

The actual way the footage is presented is one of the highlights of the film. Often the footage of Jovovich portraying Tyler was shown split-screen with the actual Dr. Tyler, hammering down the fact that the film was based on actual events. The two Tylers, or their patients, reciting the same lines as both the real and recreated interviews filled the screen.

Offering the footage in this way proved to have a successful effect; the actors portraying the characters were often quoting them word for word. The recreations of possession under hypnosis seemed accurate and this made for a more believable plot line.

Now, you don't necessarily have to be confident that alien abductions have occurred, or even that any kind of other life form exists, in order to enjoy this film. It's both entertaining, slightly disturbing and based on real life facts. Right?

Well, the film is certainly entertaining and disturbing, but other aspects might not be as accurate as we hope. Though the film claims to be based on real people and events, using actual footage acquired during Dr. Tyler's sessions, accusations that Dr. Tyler doesn't even exist have emerged.

An Alaska state licensing examiner cannot find any records of Tyler being licensed in Alaska, and both the CEO of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute and the president of the Alaska Psychological Association claim they've never heard of her. Universal Pictures has refused to discuss the film with local journalists.

So what exactly did the film mean during it's opening minutes when it suggested viewers believe as much as they want to? That they could be hesitant in their belief in encounters of the fourth kind? Or that they should be hesitant in believing the truth behind the film's real-life plot line?

Fortunately for "Fourth Kind", the film is strong enough that it can be enjoyed whether it is or is not based on actual occurrences. Alien abductions are events that humans have speculated over for a long time, and one more invented story is not going to change that. Open-minded viewers will appreciate the nature of the film, simply because it is an interesting take on the story.

Whether or not viewers will keep this open-mindedness, if filmmakers admit to fabrication, will prove to be a story of its own.