The Fourth Kind

A more accurate title for "The Fourth Kind" would be "Close Encounters of the Worst Kind."

The alien-abduction thriller tries hard to convince us of its veracity — such as including footage of the supposedly "real" interviews and events that inspired it.

But it's a dull, unconvincing tale that not only strains credibility, it also tests our patience. Plus there's a distasteful, exploitative quality to the movie.

As such, it pales in comparison to other like-minded movies, such as the aforementioned, 1977 Steven Spielberg classic.

And speaking of unconvincing, Milla Jovovich stars as Abigail Tyler, an allegedly real-life psychological researcher who claimed to have found proof of alien abductions in 2000.

In this version of events, Abby has just been widowed yet has chosen to continue her late husband's work in Nome, Alaska.

He, and now Abby, interviewed Nome residents who were having vivid nightmares — and there were some frightening similarities between their visions and experiences.

However, local authorities are ready to blame Abby for a recent tragedy. One of the project's subjects (Corey Johnson) killed himself and his family after being hypnotized by her.

Director Olatunde Osunsanmi probably should have just stuck with these dramatic "re-creations." But a few split-screen sequences show the "fictional" and "factual" elements simultaneously.

It's a needless gimmick for a film that already has multiple problems as it is.

Osunsanmi also has a hard time reining in his cast. Jovovich is laughably awful whenever her character is supposed to look or sound terrified. (She's wooden otherwise.)

And the usually dependable Will Patton goes completely over the top in his blustery turn as the local sheriff, who remains skeptical of Abby's claims.

"The Fourth Kind" is rated PG-13 and features violent content and other disturbing imagery (shootings, including a murder-suicide, a stabbing, implied alien abductions, violence against women, and child-in-peril elements), scattered strong profanity, a brief sex scene (fairly discreet), brief gore and blood, derogatory language and slurs, brief drug content (intravenous fluids), and a vulgar digestive bit (on-screen vomiting). Running time: 98 minutes.

e-mail: jeff@desnews.com