The Fourth Kind

"There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction."

2009 1h 38m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🥫

18%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.9

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 1,980🥫18%Rotten Tomatoes●34Metacritic★5.9IMDB · 85,388

MysteryScience FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Since the 1960s, a disproportionate number of the population in and around Nome, Alaska, have gone missing. Despite FBI investigations, the disappearances remain a mystery. Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist, may be on the verge of blowing the unsolved cases wide open when, during the course of treating her patients, she finds evidence of alien abductions.

“There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction.”

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Cast

Milla Jovovich
Dr. Abigail 'Abbey' Tyler
Elias Koteas
Abel Campos
Will Patton
Sheriff August
Hakeem Kae-Kazim
Awolowa Odusami
Corey Johnson
Tommy Fisher
Enzo Cilenti
Scott Stracinsky
Eric Loren
Deputy Ryan
Mia McKenna-Bruce
Ashley Tyler

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Writers: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Languages: English
Countries: Belgium, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Belgium, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, shot by Lorenzo Senatore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Atli Örvarsson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Paul Covington shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Milla Jovovich and Elias Koteas and Will Patton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Olatunde Osunsanmi directs. Lorenzo Senatore behind the camera. Atli Örvarsson scores. Paul Covington cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Belgium, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.
2Released 17 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Belgium, United States of America.
4Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, shot by Lorenzo Senatore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Atli Örvarsson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Paul Covington shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Milla Jovovich and Elias Koteas and Will Patton carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction.".
9IMDB entry: tt1220198 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 24 themes, including "sibling relationship", "investigation", "wheelchair", "hypnosis".
11Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lorenzo Senatore
Original score: Atli Örvarsson
Editing: Paul Covington
Production design: Carlos Silva Da Silva
Costume design: Johnetta Boone
Makeup / hair: Nelly Teova
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $47,709,193
Return: 477% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Fourth Kind (2009)
Rotten Tomatoes: 18% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 34/100
IMDB rating: 5.9/10 · 85,388 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Olatunde Osunsanmi

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

TkA2026-07-31
★ 7/10
A really good movie, but... I thought this was a really good movie. Before i saw it, i came into IMDb intending to read the comments of this movie, to get an idea of what it was like. The first one was along the lines of: don't research it, just watch it.\ \ So i stopped reading, and did.\ \ I started watching it just before i was going to bed, at 1:30am, just to get a quick preview, because i intended to watch it the next day. I was instantly interested, and by 3:15 i was terrified, but then i could not sleep at all, and i had to find out more about this movie. So here i am writing at 5 am, after finding out what i needed to know, and what i found out was disappointing.\ \ I would have given this movie a 10 because it was excellent, and i have never been so terrified by a movie in such a long time, but i must say i am a little upset that the whole thing was an elaborate lie.

Production companies