The Fourth Kind - Is Dr. Abigail Tyler Real?

I recently (and finally) got around to watching the movie "The Fourth Kind". You know, the one that's based on a true story about the hypnotist in Nome, Alaska who was investigating the mysterious events plaguing the city (likely alien abductions)? Okay well if you didn't know what it was, there's some background. It was in theaters a few years ago and I really wanted to see it, but never managed.

The movie opens up with a narrator coming on screen, notifying you that this entire movie is based on true events, and it uses real archived footage of the hypnotist sessions conducted by Dr. Abigail Tyler, in conjunction with the actors and actresses playing the roles of Dr. Abigail Tyler and her patients. Some names may have been changed to respect the privacy of individuals.

For an extra air of authenticity the movie has scenes of the real Abigail Tyler being interviewed on camera with the Chapman University logo hovering across the screen.

"Real" Dr. Abigail Tyler on the left and actress on the right. The movie often plays
two clips side by side contrasting with the real and fake.

During the hypnotic regression sessions Dr. Abigail Tyler performs on her patients, they are all in an extremely terrified state, in one of the cases a patient even starts levitating (the camera goes wonky in the "actual footage" of this portion). They all report seeing some kind of white owl which they don't believe to be an actual owl. These cases strongly play on themes of insanity and terror. And although the trailer and concept suggests this is all a result of alien abduction, many viewers speculate the symptoms are more along the lines of demonic possession.

Overall, if the archived footage truly is real, then this is likely the most horrific movie ever.

Unfortunately, it's not.

Wait... what?

Director and actor Olatunde Osunsanmi.

The Fourth Kind's director, Olatunde Osunsanmi who also plays the role of the man interviewing Dr. Abigail Tyler basically used the "real archived footage" line to enhance the authenticity and scare value of his film. Evidently it was a success. The film which was shot on a $10 million dollar budget raked in over $47 million dollars worldwide.

As for Dr. Abigail Tyler; both versions of her are actresses. The "fake" one is played by Milla Jovovich. The "real" one is played by Charlotte Milchard. As for the use of the Chapman University logo? You can read more about how it got its own cameo appearance.

Well then, sadly this would make for some of the greatest Paranormal evidence IF it were real, but unfortunately it's not. The movie does state however, that this is based on real events. So there has to be some aspect of truth behind it, right? Hypnotists do perform regressive hypnosis therapy on alien abduction victims, so in my opinion it's likely that this is where the "based on real events" part does come into play.

So far the only evidence I've been able to find stating that any of this movie is real, is a blog comment on another website from 'anonymous'.

Unfortunately, a testimony by an anonymous source on a blog is far off from being substantial evidence to give this story any real weight. Having said that, it was still an enjoyable watch and put together well, even if for nothing more than the fear factor it provides. You can buy the movie on Amazon on DVD or Blu-Ray.