SPOILERS AHEAD.
Despite not being held in high regard by many sci-fi or horror fans, The Fourth Kind is not only one of my favourite horror movies, but also an excellent cinematic treatment of Lovecraftian themes - albeit unintentionally so. In the latter regard, as an attempt to fictionalise some key contemporary ufological themes (particularly as they pertain to the notion of ancient aliens), The Fourth Kind draws upon Lovecraftian tropes only insofar as the likes of Jason Colavito (and to some extent myself) have tried to trace the historical interweaving of pulp Lovecraftianism into what has come to constitute modern ufo conspiracy lore.
Dealing with alien abductions which appear to be afflicting the citizens of the small town of Nome, Alaska, The Fourth Kind also recapitulates a kind of Lovecraftian verisimilitude via its use of a partially-documentary style - an affectation used as the means of reinforcing the movie’s claim that it is based on a true story (which it is not); a Lovecraftian aesthetic is further evident in building a sense of nameless, existential dread specifically by not showing the aliens, but instead presenting the viewer with the horrifying aftermath of encounters with them: this is powerfully represented in one scene where, as a consequence of his experiences, an abductee is driven to murder his family before taking his own life - in relation to which, The Fourth Kind frames the existence of aliens in the context of a typically Lovecraftian anti-religious nihilism which echoes Charles Fort’s dictum that we are property.
In summation, The Fourth Kind is an existentially-dark and underappreciated Lovecraftian gem of a movie, and one of the best cinematic takes on ufo and abduction conspiracies in recent years.
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